The Mentor: May 10

SPLITTING ON SENIOR DAY

Baseball splits doubleheader with Hayden

Junior Blake Meis swings at a pitch Friday evening at Norvell Field in Manhattan. The Indians split with Hayden, losing 13-5 in game one and taking game two, 7-4.

PHOTO BY HASAN AL-BASRI

READ MORE ON PAGE 4

VOLUME 103 // ISSUE 22 // MAY 10, 2016

GREG WOODS

Editor-in-Chief

Just two days removed from two obliterations of Highland Park last Wednesday, Manhattan High baseball head coach Don Hess wasn’t worried about his team’s mentality heading into Friday’s senior-day doubleheader against a much more potent Hayden squad.

He said his team knew what was at stake, having played Hayden a year ago on the road — a twinbill the Indians split.

The same happened Friday in Manhattan.

The Indians earned another split with Hayden, dropping game one 13-5, but slowing down the Wildcats’ bats in game two with a 7-4 win.

The stark contrast in games can perhaps be attributed to the Indians’ pitching, as Hess was forced to use three arms in game one against the Wildcat’s sizzling bats, while sophomore Carson Marsh started game two on the mound and came an out away from a complete game, striking out five in the process.

“He was very good and composed for a sophomore, and somebody we’re going to count on,” Hess said. “Once his pitch count reached about 100, we wanted him out, but at the same time, we know he wanted to finish the game.”

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Literary journal to accept late submissions TARA MAGAÑA

Blue M Assistant Editor for Verbal Content Though the deadline was Friday, “The Blue Light Journal” will still accept submissions due to few entries being received.

“We want a variety of voices to be heard, and if possible, we try to publish as many [works] as we can and space is limited, so we can’t print too many long pieces,” sponsor Judy McClendon said. “Anything written [can be submitted]: so poetry, short stories, essays, plays, excerpts from novels or other longer pieces.”

Senior Tracy Le asked McClendon to be in charge of the creation process after being tasked to create and execute a project in Kristy Nyp’s Project Management class.

“I think it’s really important for students to have an outlet to share their creative works and their ideas,” Le said. “We don’t really have anything else like this for people who are interested in, like, writing and literature and that type of stuff, to share their thoughts and share their work, so I think it’s a really cool thing, and it also gives other people a chance to read their peers’ work and get some

new ideas and see what other people think.”

The literary journal has ex-

“We don’t really have anything else like this for people who are interested in writing, literature and that type of stuff to share their work, so I think it’s a really cool thing.”

-- Tracy Le

isted on and off for the past five years and is now being published for the fourth time.

“We’re investigating printing options,” McClendon said. “Because we’re no longer printing art, it’s a little easier, because we don’t need gray glossy pages and color necessarily, so we might just go the simple route again and do just a plain black and white printing.”

Though it is not set in stone, Le and McClendon hope to distribute “The Blue Light Journal” with the yearbook during graduation practice and finals week. The journals’ cost to students will depend on printing costs.

“I know a lot of people who like to write and a lot of people who like to read, and there aren’t that many opportunities to communicate with other people and share those things, and this lets people do that,” Le said. “It also gives other people a chance to read their peers’ work and get some new ideas and see what other people think ... I’m really excited about this whole process, and I’m excited to see the final product, and I’m excited to see the people who submit things.

I’m excited for those people who have submitted things to see their work in print.”

THERE’S STILL TIME TO SUBMIT. EMAIL YOUR POETRY, SHORT STORIES, ESSAYS, ETC. TO M H S B L U E L I G H TJ O U R N A L @ GMAIL.COM TO HAVE IT PRINTED IN MANHATTAN HIGH’S LITERARY JOURNAL.

Board votes to end school a day early ANGIE MOSS

Trending Editor Last Wednesday, the Board of Education voted unanimously on yet another schedule change. However this time, it’s to the whole district and it’s for this year rather than next.

All schools in the district were originally going to close on May 26 but are now closing on May 25. The schedule change was proposed by su-

perintendent Robert Shannon as a way to reward USD 383 faculty.

“We were unable to give any kind of raises so this was another way to appreciate all of USD 383 employees,” Board of Education president Marcia Rozell said. “They do so much.”

Manhattan High will be dismissed at 11 a.m. on May 25 and schools will not be providing lunches.

BPA members set bar high at nationals TARA MAGAÑA

Blue M Assitant Editor for Verbal Content Out of the qualifying members of Manhattan High’s Business Professionals of America chapter who competed in last weekend’s events at BPA’s National Leadership Conference, four broke the top three in their events. “[I’m] amazed [and] so proud of all of the kids that worked hard, even to go to the state league in Wichita, and those that qualified to go to nationals,” BPA sponsor Paige McCarthy said. “The competition was pretty tough. They all put in a

lot of work so that they got to be able to podium. It was a lot of their own time... I just really admire the commitment a lot of them have.”

Presentation-based competitions went through a preliminary round before seven Manhattan entries qualified for finals and went on to compete.

“This is the first time in several years that we’ve had any finishers in the top three,” McCarthy said. “They made a large step ... and the hard work really paid off.”

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Forensics compete in last Kansas tournament of year, return with three top placements, two semifinalists ELIZABETH UNDERWOOD

Features Editor

The last week in April held a successful finale for Manhattan High’s Forensics team.

For their last tournament, competitors headed out to Kansas City, Kansas, to compete among other top ranking students in Kansas.

“The kids all did well and we had some nice team time,” coach Ben Sutherland said. “[I’m] very proud of them and all their efforts this year.”

In the end, Manhattan had three top placements and two semi-finalists in the tournament. Senior Nathan McClendon topped the tournament with a second place in Original

GLOBAL NEWS RICK BROWN 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.

Donald Trump wins Indiana Primary, becomes presumed GOP nominee

On Tuesday, May 3, Donald Trump won the Indiana GOP primary with 54.6 percent of the vote.

His closest rival, Ted Cruz, finished with 37.6 percent. Later that evening, Cruz announced that he was suspending his campaign.

John Kasich, Trump’s only other competitor for the Republican nomination, suspended his campaign the following day.

Several notable GOP figures, such as 1996 presidential candidate Bob Dole, Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, and

Oratory and first in Domestic Extemporaneous -- earning him the title of State Champion in that category. Senior Toula Sweeney won the final top placement of the team with third in Humorous Interpretation. The two semi-finalists from Manhattan were seniors Michaela Hayes and Sterling Edgar in Poetry Interpretation

and International Extemporaneous respectively.

“We got to see a lot of the people that we’ve been competing against and it was probably the toughest challenge we’ve been through all year; so it was very interesting,” Edgar said. “I wish I had done better ... I think that if I had been more assertive in my individual speeches

and kept a really clear, strong, mind and focused attitude throughout, then I would have been able to keep a more entertaining look; and also have more information to share in my speeches.”

former House Speaker Newt Gingrich announced their support for Trump in the general election.

However, others such as Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, and South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham refused to support Trump.

Khan’s victory is notable in that it makes him the first Muslim mayor of London. Though this is one possible reason why Khan was elected, it is unlikely to please some sects of London’s population.

Zach Goldsmith, the Conservative Party’s candidate who ran against Khan, had tried to portray Khan as a radical who is sympathetic towards the Islamic state. Khan succeeds Boris Johnson of the Conservative Party as mayor of London.

McMurray, a notable oil-sands town. According to CNN, the fire produced such intense heat that lightning resulted, further fueling the fire.

By Sunday, firefighters were able to contain the fire, though unable to completely extinguish it. Chad Morrison, employee of Alberta Wildfire, commented on the containment during an interview with the BBC: “With a little help from mother nature and a bit of a break in the weather, and credit to all the hard work of all the firefighters we were able to hold most of the line in Fort McMurray,” Morrison said.

Unfortunately for residents of Fort McMurray, the fire has caused great damage. The city’s power grid is damaged and the water undrinkable, according to the BBC.

London elects first Muslim mayor in history On Friday, a majority of Londoners voted to make Sadiq Khan their mayor. The British Labour Party member promised to stop developers from selling apartments to foreign developers in an attempt to control rising housing costs. He also stated that he will offer small tax breaks for firms that pay higher wages and promised to freeze fares on London’s mass transit system for four years.

Massive wildfire strikes Canada On Sunday, May 1, a 18,500 acre wildfire started in the province of Alberta, Canada. By Friday of that week, the wildfire had grown to 210,000 acres and forced more than 100,000 people to evacuate from nearby towns, including Fort

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OPINIONS

THE MENTOR // MAY 10, 2016 // MHSMENTOR.COM

PAGE 2

Malia Obama to take gap year before college, brings awareness 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. Ever since The White House officially announced that Malia Obama was to take a gap year before attending Harvard in the fall of 2017, there’s been widespread attention over her decision and the pros and cons of taking a gap year.

Malia is supposedly doing an internship and is set to graduate a year later, in 2021. With all the publicity surrounding gap years, The Mentor Editorial Board decided to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of gap years.

Despite the fact that

taking a gap year may not seem very conventional, it’s an act that Harvard along with many other Ivy schools encourage so long as students use that time in a meaningful way.

According to the Harvard website, about 80 to 110 students take a gap year before starting their freshman year. While gap years aren’t very popular and only gaining more traction now, studies have shown that those who have taken it up have reported it to be successful.

Gap years can allow students to to recharge after years of academic drudgery and return to school with renewed tenacity and enthusiasm.

The year off can significantly help students gain valuable experiences and

a real-world perspective by granting them time to pursue other interests.

Many choose to use that time to travel, pursue an extracurricular activity or engage in a study or volunteer program while others have used that time to work to save up for the increasing tuition and additional college costs. Studies have shown that students who have gone the gap year route arrived to college more mature and with a clearer focus on their academic goals and pursuits because the break allowed them to think or reassess their objectives and collegiate path.

But gap years aren’t for everyone. In fact, there are plenty of downsides to balance out the positives along with studies to

Cruz, Kasich gave up race too easily

DAVID FLITER

Opinions Editor The more that I think about Ted Cruz and John Kasich suspending their elections, the more I realize the issues that it brings to both the Democratic and Republican parties.

For one, it makes Donald Trump the unanimous Republican presidential candidate which is terrifying to a good amount of the Democratic party.

This also means the battle between Trump and Clinton for president is inevitable. Finally, even though in the long run he will be getting more votes, Donald Trump will not be as successful as he started due to a democratic response in the polls.

The Cruz/Kasich alliance had a good chance of undermining the progress that Trump had made

with the election progress so far, but Trump knew how to appeal to the far right wing side of the spectrum better than both Cruz and Kasich did.

The problem with Trump becoming the one standout Republican candidate is that there is now no one for those who don’t agree with Trump to vote for, significantly increasing the number of potential voters for Trump, but also increasing the chance of moderate Republicans leaning more to the left in the long run. Since these moderates will probably not agree with Bernie Sanders’ stance on socialism, they will most likely side with Hillary.

I feel like the Trump versus Clinton battle was almost rigged in the end, with Sanders being the only one counted out from the game. Kasich and Cruz dropped out after a crucial defeat in Indiana, but the presidential race is still far from over; they could have made better progress in the end. The two of them could have formed

a strong moderate response to Trump, enough to the point of where they might just have gotten ahead of him. I think that they could have just cut their losses with Indiana and moved on to start an aggressive campaign that encompanses all that Trump attacks or those who have disdain for him.

Instead, we have two big names who built their campaigns on little politics and just on mudslinging and trying -- and failing -- to appeal solely to a younger generation.

Clinton lives off of the hype of the popularity of her last name, and Trump is simply overcompensating for things he doesn’t know.

Overall, I am disappointed with the presidential race as a whole, and I am disappointed with the lack of resilience on the side of those in the same party as Trump that oppose him, even though in the end he won’t even win.

Question

of the

week:

What is the best thing your mom taught you?

“It’s okay to stand out because you are unique” --Trinity Price, sophomore (@tfp_boo) “how to deal with insane family members” -- Riley Taylor, sophomore (@_rileytaylor5) “the importance of dogs in my daily life” Lacy Fisher, sophomore (@lxcyfxsher)

“She taught me how to grill bears” Jeremy Woolever, junior (@cheerfulfarts)

“the difference between the m-dash and the n-dash” -- Emma Landsdowne, sophomore (@epicemma55)

“she taught me how to make a bomb milkshake” -- Marta Cantu, sophomore (@marta_cantu17) “she taught me how to get gains #gains” -- Chandler Mixon, junior (@ChandlerMixon0)

Next Week’s Question: Best studying tactics?

Would you like to see your words in print?

Share them with The Mentor for a chance to have your story in the publication.

The Mentor is an open public forum and accepts signed letters and guest columns from students, faculty members and parents. Letters and columns are distinct from each other.

The editorial staff reserved the right to edit for length, grammar and clarity while preserving the original intent. All guest content must be signed and must be free of copyright violations.

E-mail ideas and submissions to at mhsmentor@gmail.com.

undermine the idea that gap years are absolutely golden.

One study done in 2005 by a sociology professor at Johns Hopkins University found that, “Students who delay their college enrollment by more than one year are 64 percent less likely to complete their bachelor’s degree, even eight years later, than students who head to college right after high school graduation.”

The results are astounding and equally important to note is the reality that it can be frustrating and disheartening for gap year students when their classmates move on to college without them. Many gap year students with ambitious plans ended up wasting that time, zoning-out,

only to regret the decision of taking a gap year in the first place. In addition, it’s difficult to gain access to guidance counselors, scholarship resources or peer support that are there for students right in high school.

The Mentor Editorial Board concluded that the gap year could be extremely beneficial as long as the time was used productively. However, the Board also mentioned that the transition from the break moving straight into college could be challenging and arduous especially for someone, like Malia, who will be attending Harvard.

With all the controversy surrounding gap years, it’s safe to say that if students do take that route, it’s crucial that they have

established a clear plan, have a focused mindset, and spend time accordingly to achieve those aspirations. Despite the stigmas surrounding gap years, the gap year plan can be incredibly advantageous and may be the right decision for you.

An alternative that may work better for you is to have one to two years of college under your belt and then taking a year off.

Regardless, it’s essential to assess the reasons first of why it may be good or detrimental to you to take a gap year and research the other options for delaying school because ultimately, the decision can greatly affect your future academic direction and endeavors.

House bill 2502 unsafe JORDAN LUTZ

Staff Writer

A couple of weeks ago during legislation’s Sunday session, the Kansas Senate and House passed House Bill 2502, proposed

by Representative Blake Carpenter, with an overwhelming positive vote of 32-6 from the Senate and 93-27 from the House. HB 2502, if passed by Governor Brownback, will allow government employees to carry a concealed weapon when on duty in or out of their work building. The bill was designed to allow public employees to defend themselves

if attacked and bans their employers from restricting the employees from carrying weapons, as long the person is qualified to carry weapons.

While the bill seems to be safe, everyone wants to feel safe so of course weapons are one answer to that, there are problems within the bill. HB 2502 states that it will require government approved signs that prohibit weapons, concealed or not. This could become troublesome for many small businesses who wish to keep weapons out of their stores. Who knows how long it will take for the government to give those businesses an approved sign and how much it will cost for those businesses to file for the signs.

The next problem that would arise comes if

these businesses can not receive those approved signs in a timely manner.

They would then have to deal with the thought that any government employee that walks into their store could be holding a concealed weapon. The businesses would have to determine if those individuals will use that weapon or will be peaceful customers. Sure, the bill only allows those qualified for a permit get a concealed carry license but the paranoia will still be there.

Probably the only upsides to this bill are the facts that, as always, schools are exempt from HB 2502 and still remain as a no weapons building and that the employers can only allow qualified employees to bring and carry a concealed weapon while on the job.

Siblings graduating not as bad as you think

CORA ASTIN

Photo Editor

It’s almost halfway through May, and the school year is so close to being done. But with the end of the school year comes high school graduation. For some, it’s an exciting time; you’re off to new place, meeting new people and finally getting one step closer to being done with school.

But for others it can be a little bittersweet, as all of your friends and siblings are graduating and leaving you behind.

If you are the one being left behind, it can finally mean freedom, because you don’t have an older sibling or friend lurking around every corner. Or it can be rough, because you have been in school with that person for as long as you can rememEDITORS: Greg Woods -- Editor-InChief Tracy Le -- News Editor David Fliter -- Opinions 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 Rick Brown -- Copy Editor Tara Magaña -- Blue M Assist. Verbal Editor

ber.

My older brother, Caleb, and I have been in practically every school together at the same time. There are only three times that I can remember the two of us not being in school together.

For as long as I can remember, it’s been the two of us.

Now that he is graduating, people ask me how I feel about next year. I can’t answer that question because I don’t know how I feel about it. It’s bittersweet, because he’s graduating and my senior year is fast-approaching.

I get that not everyone has that same story, but this can be applied to everyone: don’t be remorseful becauses that person is not at school with you anymore. Live out these last few years that you have left in high school.

Do something, within the laws, to make these years memorable.

Everyone is telling you this, but now that the person who overshadowed you is no longer in the

same school, you can finally do what you want with these years. Take the classes you want, go to the home games and the dances and actually enjoy the last few years of high school.

The school year might be rough because your crutch isn’t right there beside you, but don’t fret, because they still are there, just a little further away. There might be times when the nature of the relationship weakens, but do not worry, because it naturally does that.

Your crutch, that person you depend on the most at school, will always be there beside even if you do not feel them.

So when people ask you how you feel about next year, think about all of the new and unique things you get to do. Especially those that you won’t get to do with your crutch, sibling or friend by your side. No one can know what next year holds; the only thing you can do is live life to your fullest potential.

OTHER: Staff Writers -- Anna Alanazi, Lexi Bieker, Ale Flores, Anna Hupp, Megan Klug, Gavin Larios, Jordan Lutz, Maya Minocha Staff Photographers -Hasan Al-Basri, McKenna Eilert, Lauren Race, Dylan Thomas 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 1,000 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 public forum that encourages and accepts contributions from the public.

E-mail us at mhsmentor@ gmail.com.

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.

PAGE 3

THE MENTOR // May 10, 2016 // MHSMENTOR.COM

ENTERTAINMENT

Vietnam memorial hosted at MHS ALE FLORES

I said, ‘I think I’m ready now to tell the story and be the voice for my family.’”

The play is an autobiographical performance memoir. It is Vi Tran’s family story from their escape from Vietnam, their capture in Cambodia and eventual resettlement in southwestern Kansas.

“It’s a play in particular about my family story,” Tran said, “but other than that I wanted to write a play about how family stories are passed down, how we sit together during holidays around the dinner table and we share stories and how this family stories then become family lore and family legends.”

The play was written in honor of Vi Tran’s parents, because of all of the sacrifices they made

Staff Writer

Playwrite and songwriter Vi Nhan Tran and his wife answer student questions after their performance of “The Butcher’s Son,” Which Tran’s wife directed.

PHOTO BY CORA ASTIN

‘Civil War’ divides theaters

ALE FLORES

Staff Writer

Before it even premiered in the U.S., “Captain America: Civil War” had already made $200.4 million dollars on the box office; Having premiered internationally on April 27 across 37 countries.

Since its trailer world premiere during November last year, people have been looking forward anxiously for this movie.

Last Friday it premiered.

The movie had as much comedic relief as action scenes, a lot unexpected revelations, love stories and new characters. As seen in the trailer, “Captain America: Civil War” is about a disagreement between Steve Rogers

and Tony Stark, which leads into a war. On Captain America’s side stand Ant Man, Falcon, Bucky Barnes and Hawkeye. In the other side, Iron Man’s team consists of Black Widow, The Vision, Spiderman, War Machine and The Black Panther. So you can guess both teams are very powerful. The whole movie revolves about the idea that super-

PHOTOS COURTESY OF MARVEL

heroes’ good deeds don’t make up for all of the death that they caused in the world, as seen in all of the Marvel movies since the first Avengers.

The movie contained everything a movie has to have in order to make it great, comedy, love

stories, action, and suspense. It had a few new characters, including Spider Man, which gave the movie a great comedic turn; we also get to see Ant Man join forces with The Avengers.

I laughed, I cringed, I cried, I got mad and I got happy throughout the entire movie. The trailer set my expectations for the movie pretty high, and I was more than pleased with the outcome. The only thing I could say that I didn’t like was the absence of Thor and Hulk, but I’m sure in this huge universe there is still much of them left to see in the following movies.

Now if you are a true Marvel fan, you know after finishing the movie you have to wait for the after-credits scene. In this case, we had a clip which obviously foreshadowed what would eventually happen in the nine upcoming films from 2017 to 2019.

This is the third Captain America movie, though it feels like it’s the fifth counting The Avengers movies too, but I think this movie helped the trilogy come together amazingly. It could actually be said that it is one of the best trilogies of all time.

Drake’s ‘Views’ fails to live up to hype

GREG WOODS

Editor in Chief

If there’s one thing most household-name, iconic artists, even 2016 hip-hop artists have, it’s a masterpiece -- an album indisputably the artist’s best work. In many ways, it’s what separates great artists from good ones.

For Kendrick Lamar, it’s “To Pimp A Butterfly.” For Kanye West, it’s probably “Graduation.”

For Future, it’s... never mind. I forgot he only raps about lean.

Point is that “Take Care” is Drake’s best work, even after he released the long-anticipated “Views” two weeks ago. The problem is just that -- that 2011 album is still better than a project Drake began to tease nearly a year in advance.

I don’t want to come across as thinking “Views” is trash, be-

cause it isn’t. It’s far from trash. There are just a few things I, and much of his fanbase, take issue with.

The overriding, impression-leaving one has to be the album’s length. It’s 20 songs, which doesn’t automatically make an album bad, but about half of the songs are the same old Drake -- rapping and singing about his myriad of exes, themes that are unmistakably Drake, but he has way too many similar tracks to make those on “Views” anything special. Eventually, we have to expect more out of him -- while, like he raps on “U With Me?” he’s made a career off reminiscing, he can’t continue to release albums laced with the same old material and expect to be labeled one of the greats.

But by the same token, there is something to be said about the way Drake goes about making the songs he does. As previously stated, there’s no denying he’s built a reputation for releasing songs about his ex-girlfriends and relationships, and in that sense, he stands alone at the top of the rap game. It’s no wonder people joke, advising

people not to “Drake and drive,” that is, to listen to Drake’s most wistful, nostalgic while driving.

It’s because he is the goto rapper (if we can call him that) for recalling past memories.

But, like I said earlier, we can’t continue to accept these types of songs from Drake and lift him atop a pedestal in the rap genre. In an age when racism runs rampant, aggressive bigots run for president and the country appears in many ways doomed, sentimental songs won’t cut it. There’s a reason why Kendrick Lamar is considered the greatest rapper alive.

Don’t get me wrong; Drake has the ability to be the rapper we hope for -- songs like “Hype” and “Grammys” show off Drake’s aggressive, serious side.

Aside from Future’s verse on “Grammys,” those two tracks are phenomenal and could go a long way if Drake wants to stray from his sappy, cheesy ways and begin to stake his name on the list of rap greats.

That, however, is up to Drake.

“The Butcher’s Son,” a refugee story and musical performance memoir by playwright, songwriter, actor and producer Vi Nhan Tran, was performed last Saturday at the Black Box Theater at MHS west campus. It was hosted by Linda Uthoff, the Manhattan High Thespians and Kansas State University Theater.

“When I was a teengager and I started showing a spark of writing ability in my English classes, my mom said ‘you have to tell our story ... you have to write a book about our story’ and I told her ‘no I’m 14 I will screw it up,’” Tran said. “And I just kept living life and grew up and when I reached a certain level of maturity

ARTIST OF THE WEEK -CAMILLE FELLERS Why are you interested in visual art? -- “I started in middle school just to do something, and ended up liking it. I just really liked how I could do what my brain wanted me to do.

I’ve always had trouble expressing myself in words, so I think art helps me do that.”

How did that start? -- “Well, they came to visit- they came here, they had a representative that came to this class and told us about the school. The next week I made a college visit and I loved it, so now that’s where I desperately want to go.”

PHOTO BY ANNA HUPP

help me practice doing all sorts of things, but I’m also doing it because I like taking risks in art and both of these things can be very risky in their own separate ways, so it’s almost as if I can learn very separate things from the two different subject matters.”

Why are you concentrating on different ideas?

-- “I think it will

What is the purpose of your art? Do you want to get a specific point across or just express yourself? -“I want to express myself.

If other people learn from it that’s cool, but I really want to expand people’s minds, let them learn something.”

VISUAL ART ‘The Jungle Book’: amazing visuals, OK acting

ANNA HUPP

Staff Writer

The images were so expansive and richly layered that I felt like I could taste them. Mowgli swung from a vine in the greentextured forest, dropped onto a wide branch and started running. A black panther leaped from above, and I may or may not have jumped a little.

“The Jungle Book” was clearly made for 3-D. The story begins with Mowgli, a man-cub who has lived with a clan of wolves in the jungle for as long as he can remember. The drought there is so severe that he and the other animals could see the Peace Rock sticking up from the floor of the waterhole, signaling a break in the regular Law of the Jungle. Instead of preying on each other, creatures simply drink side-by-side.

As the animals gathered at the pool’s edge, Shere Khan appeared. Terri-

Come pick up your 2016 Blue M yearbook $78 for those who haven’t pre-ordered (while supplies last)

to give their family better opportunities and to shine more light onto how it actually was to be a Vietnamese citizen during the Vietnam war.

“It removes us from being nameless faces in newspaper photos,” Tran said. “It removes us from being statistics in a textbook, so it puts a real name and a real face to the refugee journey.”

Vi Tran’s company is touring around Kansas, then they are taking it back to Tran’s former hometown of Garden City.

“It’s a refugee story but is also an all-American tale,” Tran said.

“The writing and music will move you and it will make you want to call your mother father or sister afterwards.”

fied at the sight of the vicious tiger, the rest of the animals shrank back, but Shere Khan didn’t spring at them. Instead, he claimed Mowgli as his own. “Men do not belong in the jungle,” Khan said.

Because it is peacetime, Khan can not kill Mowgli, but he warned he’ll be back with the rains. The wolves wanted to protect the cub they adopted, but instead of endangering them, Mowgli decided to leave. Guided by the panther who saved his life when he was a baby, he set off to the Man-Village.

Mowgli’s journey through the forest is the main action of the movie.

He encounters boa constrictors, singing bears and giant gorillas; all with Shere Khan a step behind him. Finally, Mowgli must choose to become a man, kill Shere Khan or be killed.

Besides the visual escape, the movie is not exceptional. That’s not to say it’s bad, either; Bill Murray as Baloo is excellent, and there is something decidedly primal and intriguing about the storyline, which sticks to the original short story

and the cartoon version pretty well. All the major characters are engaging too. (Another bonus is that none of the really nice ones die, which is so, so good after years of every other animated Disney movie.) Neel Sethi, who plays Mowgli in his breakout role, cannot act, which is unfortunate and distracting, but as he is only 12, one can’t blame him for that too much. Overall, the movie achieves its purpose as engaging, adventurefilled entertainment. As a result, it’s fun but pretty forgettable.

Is “Jungle Book” scary?

Slightly. It’s exciting, but still PG. I would take almost any eight-year-old with me to theaters, but not most five-year-olds.

For a story about a sixyear-old being stalked by a vengeful tiger, it’s not very dark.

“The Jungle Book” is worth seeing in theaters simply because of the visual experience. If you don’t go, however, you shouldn’t feel too bad.

The amazing effects are the only outstanding thing you would be missing.

• Seniors at graduation practice on Friday, May 20 • West campus on Tuesday, May 23 during lunch • East campus on Wednesday, May 24 during lunch

SPORTS

THE MENTOR // MAY 10, 2016 // MHSMENTOR.COM

PAGE 4

Baseball splits with Hayden on senior day Continued from Page 1

In game one, however, pitching was the trouble spot.

“We’re kind of shaky on the mound,” Hess said.

“We’re just not consistent, we’re falling behind and defensively, you have to be there when your pitcher’s struggling, and we weren’t. We had a couple opportunities early in [game one] to stop the bleeding, and we weren’t able to do that.”

Senior Josh Chapman pitches during the first game of Friday’s doubleheader against Hayden.

PHOTO BY GAVIN LARIOS

The bleeding came in the form of 17 Hayden hits, six of which came in the third inning, when the Wildcats put a six-spot on the scoreboard, upping their lead to 12-5.

The Indians didn’t score again after their five-run second inning, and Hayden made them pay. Manhattan was kept in check for the rest of the contest, and the Wildcats took game one.

The nightcap, on the other hand, was a different story, including for MHS at the plate. Taking the injured Tanner Holen’s three-hole spot in the lineup, senior Grant

Munsen launched a tworun shot over the left-field fences, a home run that gave his team a quick 2-0 lead in the first frame.

“I got a good pitch. I was ready; 3-2 count; I shortened up my stride a little bit,” Munsen said. “I saw the ball well and just put a good swing on it.”

The big fly set the stage for the Indians’ offense for the rest of the contest, as Manhattan added a run in the second, three in the fourth and one in the sixth on the way to the 7-4 win.

It may not have been possible without Marsh’s performance on the mound, though. The soph-

omore said he tried to keep things simple.

“Really, all I was trying to do is execute pitches and hit my spots,” Marsh said. “I wasn’t trying to do anything special. If they put it in play, I was going to let my defense work for me.”

Now at 10-6 for the season, the Indians now turn their attention to Tuesday’s doubleheader at Emporia. He may not start again, but Marsh remains confident in his team heading into the road twinbill.

“Oh yeah,” he said, rather bluntly. “We’ll sweep.”

Boys tennis place second under Washburn, advances five players to state ANNA ALANAZI

Blue M Photo Editor The Manhattan High Boys’ tennis team fell two points short and ended up as runner-ups behind Washburn Rural in Saturday’s 6A regionals at Kossover Tennis Complex in Topeka.

The Junior Blues finished two points ahead of the Indians in a wellfought out match.

Seniors Kirkland Lambert and Collin Queal won first in their seed ending up as backto-back regional champions.

“We played Topeka our first match,” Queal

said. “We played pretty well our first couple of matches. It was a pretty laid back day until the finals. It was pretty competitive with Washburn as it always is.”

Lambert and Queal sealed their fate with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Washburn in the championship after defeating Manhattan’s seniors Matt Turnley and Ben Turnley in the semifinals, 3-6, 0-6. Queal and Lambert will head to state with a 23-2 record.

“They should be in a good position to get a good seed at state and compete successfully,” head coach Bob Kelly said. “They are one of the best doubles

teams who have played for Manhattan High and should do very well.”

Matt and Ben placed fourth in doubles after a three-set tiebreaker against Washburn, 1-6, 7-5, 6-7. The second match against Derby was the one that determined whether they qualified for state, which they won, 6-4, 6-2.

“They have improved dramatically over the season,” Kelly said. “And, given a favorable draw, should have a good chance to do well and advance at state.”

Junior Bryce Easton won second place in singles after narrowingly defeating Rural’s Max Cas-

sidy going into a three-set tiebreaker and winning, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 in the semifinals. Easton pulled his strength to go against Topeka High’s Matt Gonzales in a tight match with a 6-3, 6-4 win. “[Easton] showed a lot of courage and fortitude to overcome some physical difficulties caused by the heat and playing long matches Saturday,” Kelly said. “He, too, has a good chance of advancing in the state tournament. He is a tenacious player who is very difficult to beat.”

Senior Carter Nelson was one match away from hitting state in the singles bracket. Nelson won

against JC but lost the next two matches in a 6-7 (7-5), 6-4, 6-3 loss.

“Although he won’t be going to state,” Kelly said.

“I very much appreciate his play and especially, his leadership contributions over the season. I appreciate the cooperation and participation of all the tennis players during the season. They made what could have been a difficult transition into a relatively seamless, smooth one. I enjoyed coaching and getting to know them; it was a positive experience for me.”

The Indians will be traveling to Shawnee Mission East for the 6A State

Meet. The state meet will start on Friday at Harmon Park Tennis Complex in Prairie Village and will finish up on Saturday.

“We’re really looking forward to state,” Easton said. “It’s going to be really sad because pretty much we’re losing all the other players on the team. Our seniors, it’ll be the last year playing with these guys and I’m really going to miss them next year. So yeah, I’m looking forward to our last good year at state.”

Track finishes regular season, prepares for post-season Golf prepares for regionals ANGIE MOSS

Features Editor Manhattan High Track traveled to Salina last Friday to close off their regular season and although the team came home with several placers, neither division brought home first overall.

Among the highest placers in the girls’ division were junior Cara Melgares, who took first

in the 1,600 meter run and second in javelin; senior Anna Keeley, who won the 3,200 meter run; the 4x800 meter relay team finished first and sophomore Therriana Pittman, who brought home a bronze in discus.

The boys’ division had several placers as well: sophomore Logan Logback won the 1,600 meter run; senior Josue Alvaredo took second in the 800 meter run; junior

Brandon Cook finished in third place in discus; junior Tom Haug took first in high jump; senior Christian Carmichael brought home third place for high jump and senior Ian Trapp and junior Josh Haus took second and third in javelin.

Though the team is focusing on post-season meets from here on out, they took time to look back on the regular season and reminisce.

“[My favorite memories include] getting to run on relays and because we’re all tired and hurting,” junior Amber Gloria said, “we push each other and encourage each other to do the best we can and it’s a great feeling having all your teammates by your side.”

MHS will be hosting Centennial League at 3:30 p.m. this Thursday at Bishop Stadium.

Soccer keeps winning, looks ahead at playoffs ERICK ECHEGARAY

Sports Editor

After a loss that would end the Manhattan girls soccer team recent streak of decisive wins, the Lady Indians avenged that loss to Wichita Northwest and turned it into two more decisive wins for their season.

Starting with a 13-0 shutout against Highland Park and followed with a 7-2 victory against Hayden, MHS brought their record to 10-4 for the season. Still, the team has plenty to improve on according to junior defender Karmen Martinie.

“During our halftime talks we say we’re going to do all of these different things but we end up not putting them into action,”

Martinie said.

Manhattan is very close to playoff season prompting players look farther than just those few upcoming games.

“I’m hoping we can pick it up still but if we play like we can and we should then we have a good chance [at a deep playoff run],” junior defender Molly Smith said.

With upcoming games against rivals Junction City and Shawnee Heights and the Centennial League champions being decided, head coach Mike Sanchez is confident in his team.

“This year has been a bit up and down with injuries and illnesses,” Sanchez said. “I still think we’ll be strong [at Centennial].”

Freshman Haleigh Harper swings the for the ball at the opening game of the season for the Manhattan High Softball team, on April 1, 2016. The team won 8-3 in the first game of their double header against Topeka High School.

PHOTO BY DYLAN THOMAS

GAVIN LARIOS

Staff Writer

One wrong move -- a frustrated stretch that ended up breaking a golf club -- disqualified a Washburn Rural player moving the Manhattan High golf team up a spot to a win.

Now the Indians are preparing themselves for regionals next week.

“Yeah I’m ready,” senior Trevor Dillon said.

Junior Dustin Wichman

believes that the team has made a lot of progress. “I think all the guys are ready,” Wichman said. Students like Wichman also believe that head coach Brad Ficke is a huge help and advantage to the team.

“Ficke’s been really helpful,” Wichman said.

“The team didn’t compete last night in Emporia due to weather conditions.

Tomorrow the team will next compete in Lawrence.

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK COLE GRITTON .Senior Cole Gritton scored a 72 at Centennial League letting him take first place at the tournament making Gritton Centennial League Champion of the 2016 golf season.

“That felt really good [to win Centennial]. I won the past three straight and I want to keep continue winning so I got to get better every day,” Gritton said.

Gritton started out golfing at the age of six and decided he liked it enough to keep playing it.

“I just really fell in love with the game; I love competing and getting better every day,” Gritton said.

Winning regionals and state may seem like a stretch for most golfers, but Gritton has his hopes set for winning both.

“I’m not done yet, I want to go out and win regionals and state as well,” Gritton said. “There’s going to be good competition [at regionals and state].”

GOLF

Softball nears end of season Swimming competes in final meet JACOB CLANTON

Staff Writer

The Manhattan High softball team split a doubleheader with Hayden on Friday.

The team won the first game 7-1 and lost the second 10-5.

The Lady Indians were nearly flawless defensively in the first game, with sophomore Anna Batt pitching.

“I don’t believe we made an error game one,” head coach Monty Enright said. “[The] girls played really good defensively, [and] Anna Batt threw really, really well for us in that game.”

Manhattan was able to capitalize on Hayden’s mistakes with key hits. They took advantage of these hits to score seven runs and

take a commanding lead.

“Hayden made a lot of errors in game one,” Enright said. “Which opened up some big innings for us, and so we were able to get a few key hits with their mistakes, and got up to a good lead. [It was] maybe the best game we’ve played this year, both offensively and defensively, and pitching.”

The story was reversed in game two, with Manhattan committing the errors. Junior Chelsey Henry pitched the first three innings for the Lady Indians, before being replaced by Batt in the fourth, in an attempt to stop the Hayden rally.

Manhattan was able to stop the rally, but not before Hayden had scored six runs to take the lead.

“With Anna [Batt] pitching, we’re a little bit better defensively,”

Enright said. “We just tried to change the look a little bit to try to stop the run.”

The Lady Indians were never able to recover offensively. They had many more opportunities to score runs, but were unable to exploit them. “[In] game two, we kinda slipped a little bit,” Enright said. “[We] let some things get away from us.”

The next game for Manhattan is Tuesday at home against Emporia.

The Lady Indians hope to continue improving through the last week of the regular season.

“We’re still on the same goal,” Enright said. “Try to improve and get better and build towards the end of the year.”

MEGAN KLUG

Staff Writer

Wednesday night was full of farewells and final times for the swimming and diving team.

Being the last home meet, last meet of the season and senior night, it was a bittersweet night all together for the swim team. The team placed first, topping Emporia in a dual. The night also included goodbyes to two seniors, Robyn Burton and Tory Bach. For Robyn Burton, she also was ending swimming with her sister.

“I’m going to miss swimming with my sister so much,” sophomore Kathy Burton said. “She’s the main reason I joined swimming. It was definitely very hard at the

meet trying to compose myself and prepare myself to be ready for it, but it’s gonna be hard next year especially because every single time that I doubt myself as a swimmer my sister is just there.”

Robyn was also the team captain and showed her leadership with other team members as well.

“She knows how to make people feel welcome and involved and she makes people feel like they do contribute to the team because I know starting swim is scary,” Kathy said. “Robyn has this way to convince you enough to believe in yourself by believing in you and it just makes her an amazing captain and the team won’t be the same without her next year.”

Along with senior farewells the team will be saying goodbye to the swimming coach Jerry Carpenter.

“I think the goodbye to Jerry is going to be the hardest parts because he’s just such a good coach,” Kathy said. “He understands that yelling doesn’t work and that you are the only one that can convince yourself to get better and that thought process never really crossed my mind as an athlete and to have him be so kind and understanding is amazing.”

Overall, the natatorium was filled with emotions and celebration for a great win. Several swimmers are under state consideration, but for most swimmers the season is over.

PAGE 5

THE MENTOR // MAY 10, 2016 // MHSMENTOR.COM

FEATURES

Fu wins award for aspirations in technology, computing TRACY LE

News Editor In fifth grade, sophomore Stephanie Fu taught herself HTML with the purpose of creating a website for a book report.

Now, she reigns as one of 15 high school winners of the National Center for Women and Information Technology Award.

“I was really happy that I won the award,” Fu said. “The greatest reward from this whole thing is the Facebook community I am a part of now, because everyone is also really into computers...they’ve accomplished so much and are so inspirational.”

NCWIT was founded to encourage women with aspirations in computing and technology because gender roles still drive a wedge between careers that are considered feminine and those that are considered masculine.

Yet Fu believes the world has made much progress.

“From a young age, girls see lots of nurses, teachers, etc. that are female and don’t have the opportunity to see women engineers or scientists,” Fu said, “so they don’t really think along those career pathways and, as a result, choose a job or major that they’ve seen others do, even though

they might actually be better at civil engineering or software development.

I think that it’s getting a lot better with organizations such as NCWIT that are promoting gender equality in sci-tech and letting us know about opportunities for internships/camps/other connections. In my opinion, it doesn’t matter your gender, you just have to prove that you’re good at something.”

The CEO and co-founder of NCWIT, Lucy Sanders, agrees.

“With technology jobs projected to grow faster than all other job sectors in the next decade, it’s imperative that we nurture the computing aspirations of women, who will make up half the professional workforce,” Sanders said. “This award allows us to recognize and encourage talent that might otherwise be overlooked.”

Since reading about Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of HTML, in fifth grade and teaching herself programming and animation, Fu has decided to go into software development and later have her own technology-related business. But for now, she busies herself with various projects and technology-related classes such as game design.

“I’ve worked on a couple of Android applications with Nolan Blankenau [sophomore],” Fu said. “We developed Project Green, and the main function of that is that it allows users to map out recycling bin locations, separated by material.

The information is sent to the server, and then everyone with that app can see the location you marked. Another app we created last weekend at the K-State Hackathon was Umuros, which takes recent tweets from Twitter, analyzes them, and categorizes them into basic emotions, and the emotion with the most tweets is displayed along with an animation and all the percent values of the other emotions.”

“I have made two apps with her and could not have asked for a better partner,” Blankenau said.

“Stephanie is a very intelligent, hardworking and dedicated individual. She has never turned down something because she thought it was too hard.

She always just said she would learn it and get it done. And she did.”

To Fu, the whole process of volleying ideas, planning, designing and programming is exciting.

“Programming is rewarding,” Fu said. “When you’ve finished the first

Sophomore Stephanie Fu works on a project for the state-wide Science Olympiad competition in April with her partner.

PHOTO BY TRACY LE

version of your app or program, it’s very satisfying. You think, ‘wow, did I just create that?’ It’s a lot

of problem solving, collaboration, precision and learning all the time, and that’s why I love comput-

er science. It makes me happy creating and learning.”

drawing, figure drawing, whatever kind of drawing. For example, I’m going for painting; that’s where they’ll teach me how to oil paint and [use] different techniques for acrylic painting.”

After having done many forms of art, Fellers settled on drawing and painting as her favorites.

“I have done drawing and painting, illustration, ceramics and sculpture,” Fellers said. “I really liked doing ceramics and sculpture, just because I hadn’t done it before and it was something new. I like doing new things, but I also really like to draw and paint.”

Solely devoting her studio time to painting, Fellers is able to work with different types of techniques and media

available at Manhattan High School.

“My studio time will be devoted to painting, so they’re going to show me a lot of techniques,” Fellers said. “For example, here at Manhattan High we can’t do oil painting, because we don’t have the funds for it or we don’t have the space for it. They’re going to teach me that and some other basic things like framing.

Just essential skills, techniques and different ways to use the mediums.”

The camp helps students understand what art schools are looking for in applicants.

“It definitely is [helping me with getting into KCAI], it does help you understand what they are looking for in an application, and what any

college would be looking for,” Fellers said. “They do a portfolio review at the end, where they look at all your stuff and tell you what your weak spots are and what your strong points are and point you towards the right direction.”

For Fellers, going to the camps means that she can branch out and grow as an artist with other students like her.

“I am really looking forward to developing confidence as artist and I’m really looking forward to interacting with different people and meeting new people, because people from all around the country come to this,” Feller said. “And just be able to develop those skills to get into a nice college.”

Fellers paints at Kansas City Art Institute

CORA ASTIN

Photo Editor

Top: Junior Camille Fellers works on her drawing of Buddha at Radina’s Coffee Shop in Aggieville.

Center: Fellers shades in her Buddha drawing with a pencil. While at KCAI Fellers is focusing on painting, a change up from her normal art medium.

Right: Piece by Fellers.

PHOTOS BY CORA ASTIN

After having a late start in eighth grade to the art game, junior Camille Fellers is one of 83 participants in the elite summer residency program at the Kansas City Art Institute.

This program brings together art students from across the nation to Kansas City, Missouri. The program allows for high school students to experience college and to invest in their talents.

“Basically it’s a college experience; it’s getting you ready for college art,” Fellers said. “You work with real professors and you work in a real studio. Six hours a day is devoted to studio time. That could be filled with life

Seniors participate in last recital Senior gets recruited for Navy MAYA MINOCHA

Blue M Organizations Editor Just like a football player prepares and trains for football season, dancers train yearround for their annual recital. These past two weeks both local Manhattan dance studios, Bates Dance Studio and Washington Dance Studio, had their annual dance recitals.

Washington Dance Studio dancers have been working on their dances since fall.

“We have been preparing all year,” Washington dancer and senior Amber Daveline said. “We have been working hard basically every night.”

With both studios recitals just a week apart, Bates Dance Studio prepares for their show using a different method.

“We work on technique for the first half of the year and then start working on our dances after winter break,” Bates dancer and sophomore Jena Minocha said. “I like doing this so we can learn new techniques to put in our dances and perfecting your technique makes learning the dances easier.”

The time spent in rehearsals for these dancers is equivalent to, if not more than, the amount of time sports teams spend practicing.

“I’m there for like four hours everyday,” Bates dancer and senior Valerie

Ruggle said. “We spend more time than it looks.”

For some, the annual dance recital can be an emotional night.

“Since it was my last year, it was an emotional weekend because all of us girls get really close to each other,” Daveline said. “We have a lot of fun together.”

Even though a lot of time, money, commitment and preparation is put into this one night, it is worth it in the end.

“I just love being onstage and giving it my all and just having fun with the dances,” Bates dancer and senior Carly Smith said.

GAVIN LARIOS Staff Writer

After taking the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery test and applying for different Uniformed Services of the United States, senior Kayleigh Jones received the news that she was recruited for the Navy.

Even better, Jones gets $80,000 for school from the G.I. Bill and tuition assistance. The G.I. Bill is money that the person serving -- her father -- can give to their dependent for college and tuition assistance.

Once her friends and family found out, they were overjoyed.

“They were very supportive and excited for me,” Jones said.

Jones grew up knowing what it was like to have family members in the military and found inspiration from them.

“My dad [inspired me], he’s in the Army,” Jones said. “He supported me in everything I did and then I’ve seen, like, everything he’s done and it inspired

me to want to help the country.”

While she’s in the Navy, Jones plans on attending school to become a homicide detective.

“I plan on retiring at 20 years and then going to school while I’m in the Navy and then getting my school done to become a homicide detective,” Jones said. “I’m going to be in a religious program, so I’m going to be a bodyguard for a traveling assistant while they go to the field like if they’re going to tell soldiers their last rites and then I’m going to be their assistant in the office.”

Jones will attend boot camp for nine weeks in the Naval Station Great Lakes in Illinois, Navy class A school for nine weeks in South Carolina where she will learn how to be a traveling assistant and combat school with the Marines for five weeks in North Carolina. The only time she’s allowed to return home is during Christmas break during Navy class A school and she’s only

guaranteed three calls home.

“Yeah of course [I will miss my family], because I can’t, like, talk to them on the phone,” Jones said.

“I can only write letters.”

Jones’ brother, sophomore Logan Jones, is going to miss his sister after she leaves, but believes she made the right choice in joining the Navy.

“I think it was a good decision because everyone in our family has been part of the services,” Logan said.

After going through Navy class A school and combat school, Kayleigh has the chance of being deployed overseas.

Kayleigh believes her family will miss her very much if she gets deployed.

“I’ll be kind of upset because she’ll be endangered,” Logan said.

Kayleigh is preparing herself for the Navy, but still feels uncertain about being deployed after combat school.

“I’ll be terrified,” Kayleigh said. “I’ll be worried.”

PAGE 6

THE MENTOR // MAY 10, 2016 // MHSMENTOR.COM

TRENDING

GUYS, WE’RE SO GREAT It’s been quite the year and we’ve all done some really wonderful things. There’s not nearly enough space in this paper to acknowledge all of the things that MHS students have achieved, but here’s a small portion of everything you guys have achieved.

MHS stands amongst best, named in top 10 challenging schools CORA ASTIN

Photo Editor

Each year, staff writer for the Washington Post, Jay Matthews, names the “Most Challenging High Schools in America.”

Matthews looks in particular at schools with an Advanced Placement Program or an International Baccalaureate Program. From that, he uses a predevised formula that takes the total number of AP exams plus IB exams divided by the number of members in the graduat-

Mentor wins All-Kansas ELIZABETH UNDERWOOD

Features Editor After submitting examples of content to the Kansas Scholastic Press Association earlier this year, staff members of The Mentor newspaper received the news of their AllKansas award around 11:20 a.m. Tuesday, April 26.

“Every year you submit a collection of your works. So we had to submit three different newspapers -- two of them had to be consecutive editions -- and [the judges] just judge those out of all of the content you’ve prepared,” adviser Kristy Nyp said. “They have different criteria that they evaluate on a one to three scale and then total up your results to determine whether or not your publication is of the All-Kansas caliber or not.”

The year held many hardships and successes for the paper’s staff that helped lead up to the high-ranking award.

“This year has been different because I stepped up to be editor because the previous editor stepped down, and so being able to overcome that and still push out quality content and great design and everything that makes up AllKansas, even with that kind of roadblock,” Mentor editorin-chief Greg Woods said.

Having been a competitive publication in the past, it has been a long-time goal of The Mentor to win the All-Kansas award once more.

“We used to have a publication that was, like, would win sweepstakes at state contest and competed... with any other 6A-sized school,” Nyp said. “At some point, like through the 2000s, that quality kind of waned a little bit and ... we just weren’t competing at that level any more ... when I came here five years ago, it was my goal to try and get us to that All-Kansas status.”

ing class.

For the eighth consecutive year, Manhattan High School has been on the list, only one of 10 high schools from Kansas. Manhattan High is the only high school on the list to do so that is not in the Kansas City metropolitan area.

In order to be named on the list, the school first must offer an AP class that students enroll in and for which the school gives an AP test.

“We have a large number of students, in the upper 300s, that select every year to challenge

themselves by taking rigorous advanced placement courses,” principal Greg Hoyt said.

“Those courses are not easy to teach, so I applaud the teachers that take on those preparations. We’ve got an incredible coordinator [Beverly] Fink, who coordinates the whole thing together. Students have to take a risk to take a challenging course they have to families that support them and faculty members that encourage them to do so.”

With every AP class taken, there is a lot of work and prep-

aration needed for the class and the exam itself.

“But it's the quantity and the quality of work that our students are doing, and the faculty,” AP coordinator Beverly Fink said. “I am really pleased with our students. It takes a lot of studying and intensity and the kids do well. I am just really proud of them, but then we have excellent AP teachers, and other staff to help get these kids ready.”

Overall, Hoyt sends his congratulations to the families, students and staff members who

are a part of the AP program.

“I just applaud the students, staff and families that elect to challenge themselves, because a lot of students don’t want to step out and take a risk,” Hoyt said, “They would just rather stay comfortable and take an easier course, than just may be a higher probability of getting a good grade. But these courses, research has shown, that they by far do a tremendous job of preparing students for post secondary education.”

SO MANY ACHIEVEMENTS • Carlos Martinez: Wrestling at Bethany College At the beginning of the year, Manhattan High’s • Madison Mittie: Basketball at Fort Hays State Thespian Troupe attended the forty fourth anUniversity nual Kansas State Conference. The • Kyrstyn Kinzie: Cheerleading at Cowley County troupe historian, junior Emma LansCommunity College downe, was given the task to create • Adam Al-Soltani: Football at Dodge a scrapbook showing the work of City Community College Thespians during the year to enter • Nate MacCharles: Football at at the state conference.

Dodge City Community College “You have to have at least three • Jemell Richardson: Football at main stage shows projects, at least Dodge City Community College one new innovative project, etc.”

• Matt Bandy: Swimming Lansdowne said. “Throughout the at Bentley University in year, I gathered newspaper articles Waltham, Massafrom The Mentor and the Mercury chusetts and programs and pic• Gardner tures to put in the Blanck: book at the end of Soccer the calendar year at Allen for the conferCounty ence in JanuCommuary.” nity ColThespians lege won the gold • Jacob medal for beB us sing an active mann: troupe and Soccer at having a nice MidAmerica well organized Nazarene scrapbook.

• Austin French: “I had gotten the Soccer at NE State wrong paper for proof University of the points system,” • Matt Turnley: Soccer at Lansdowne “We have and Simpson College in IndiI hadn't been historian long anola, Iowa enough to know whether that • Ben Turnley: Soccer at would mean. We got a silver Central College in Pella, instead of a gold, but luckily Iowa we got a gold and it was really • Emily Wilson: Volleygreat because it made all the ball at Pratt Community work I did pay off.”

College • Senior Joshua Schwartz earned a perfect • Gabe Awbrey: Basketball at Manhatscore on the ACT. tan Christian College • Scholars Bowl took second at 6A State.

• Darryl Mallett: Basketball at York College in Ne• Junior Trevor Hudgins – Centennial League Player braska of the Year • Grant Munsen: Basketball at McPherson Col• Hudgins, senior Gabe Awbrey – First Team All-Centenlege nial League, First Team All-Flint Hills • Amber Daveline: Dance at Benedictine • Junior Tommy Ekart – All-League Honorable MenCollege tion, All-Flint Hills Honorable Mention • Tanner Holen: Baseball at Iowa West• Senior Christian Carmichael – Centennial League ern Junior College Newcomer of the Year • Tarrah Bammes: Basketball at Kansas • Basketball coach Benji George – Centennial Wesleyan League Coach of the Year, Flint Hills Coach of • Josue Alvarez: Cross Country at Althe Year len County Community College • Awbrey, Ekart – Hays Shootout All-Tourney • Mackenzie Gwinner: Rowing at Team Kansas State University • Hudgins – Dodge City Tournament of • Brandon Religa: Track at UniverChampions Most Inspirational Player sity of Science and Technology • Senior Cole Gritton – Hays Shootout AllMissouri Academic Team • Sydney Zafran: Soccer at Allen • Senior Robbie Ostermann – Dodge City Tournament of For more recognitions, go County Community College Champions All-Academic Team • Maddie Taylor: Soccer at Emporia State University to mhsmentor.com or email GRAPHIC BY ANDREA LU AND ANNA ALANAZI

amossmhsmentor@gmail.com