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THE MENTOR Freshmen Student Council holds elections, selects officers VOLUME 104 • ISSUE 3 • SEPT. 13, 2016 VISIT MHSMENTOR.COM

MIRA BHANDARI STAFF WRITER

Student Council, the extra-curricular activity that grants students the opportunity to voice their interests and ideas in school, held its freshman officer elections on Sept.

7. Each candidate spent the time prior to election day campaigning, receiving support from their peers and preparing to propose their unique ideas to their community of fellow students.

Many students showed great enthusiasm at the prospect of

running for StuCo and resentative Collin Dev“Well I thought I would representing the student ane said. use [StuCo] on like, rebody. Several candidates Some also saw the sumes and stuff,” class thoroughly enjoyed par- value in running from the representative Tanya ticipating in it in middle benefit it would provide Singh said. and elementary school. for them in the future, StuCo takes charge Student of planning funCouncil draisers, dances also adand various other “I just tried to stay confident vocates school events. The and not let the fact that I the enrichideas from studentwould be speaking in front of ment of lead planning compersonal mittees make for my entire class bother me.” skills such successful events -- FRESHMAN HANNAH as responthat cater specifiHIGGINS SAID sibility, inically to the student tiative and class. dedication.

Students spent “I like leadership roles especially when applying the first weeks of school and StuCo is a great for post-secondary edu- in preparation for election place for that,” class rep- cation. day. All candidates were

required to gather signatures from 50 students and two staff members in order to qualify to participate in StuCo. They also wrote speeches that outlined their ideas and plans for the year that were presented in the Manhattan High School East Little Theater.

“I rewrote my speech multiple times to make sure it was perfect,” president Hannah Higgins said. “Other than that, I just tried to stay confident and not let the fact that I would be speaking in front of my entire class bother me.”

ELECTION RESULTS PRESIDENT Hannah Higgins VICE-PRESIDENT Meredith Comas SECRETARY Ivy Auletti TREASURER Bronwynn Bliss CLASS REPRESENTATIVES Collin Devane Hannah Garner Destiny Humphrey Tiffany Huser Tanya Singh

Spanish club sells carnations for Independence Day Juniors Kathy Burton, Ashlyn Gillispie and Ben Choi and sophomore Matt Choi sell carnations during lunch yesterday.

The carnations were being sold to celebrate del Dia de la Independencia, which means Day of Independence in Spanish.

The money raised during the carnation sales will be used toward different events that Spanish Club will participate in throughout the school year. Spanish Club will continue to sell carnations at both lunches throughout the week.

PHOTO BY MIKAYLA LARKIN

FCCLA attends first conference of year ANNA HUPP CONTENT EDITOR

The first Family, Career and Community Leaders of America Conference was last week, and the eight Manhattan High students who went remember it in detail: the speaker, the sense of community, the other high schoolers they met.

“It was the people, honestly,” junior Whitley Coke said. “I mean like when you get there you see all the FCCLA members in Kansas, so there’s so many people there and they’re all so friendly and extroverted.”

Take Aim began at 6 p.m. last Sunday and ended on Monday at 3 p.m. It was held in Manhattan's Sheraton Four Points and was attended by about 200 students -- 25 teams of eight from all corners of Kansas.

The purpose of the event was to prepare and encourage members for the upcoming year. A big part of that was personal leadership, and not necessarily just for the club.

“It was teaching us follow-through,” junior

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NEWS RICK BROWN COPY EDITOR

Anime club takes off

Emily Klabough said.

“They gave us ideas for community service projects we could do, [Students Taking Action with Recognition] Events we could do, that revolve around the community service projects we would do also.”

On Sunday night, club members listened to main speaker Rhett Laubach. Laubach warmed the students up with icebreaker activities like making up handshakes with students from other chapters.

“It was scary for some people, but for other people, they met 23 people in like five minutes,” Coke said.

The speaker also explained the club’s STAR Events, which require students to research a topic and then present what they learned to judges. He stressed the importance of networking and presenting to groups for future careers, and emphasized the value of the club’s sense of community. According to Laubach, the latter factors prepared him for the company he

later launched, “Your Next Speaker.” Laubach also attributed healthy community to four personal rules: building others up, facing challenges, leaving a legacy and sacrificing the present for a better future. Later that night, students either danced or went “cosmic bowling” -- bowling in the dark with glowing lanes.

Monday was more of a workshop day. During the first half, members within each chapter split up to listen to Laubach or attend four 30-minute “breakaway” sessions.

The sessions were held by former state officers on a variety of subjects, from the club’s STAR Events to standing with your hands on your hips for two minutes before giving a presentation to increase confidence.

Woven into the session were several games like “identity theft."

“It was kind of fun and then it was kind of scary in a way because sometime you’re just like, ‘ah, I don’t know these peo-

BRAZIL IMPEACHES ITS PRESIDENT

VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT SHAMED

GU APOLOGIZES TO PAST SLAVES

NORTH KOREA TESTS NUKES

Dilma Rousseff, president of Brazil, was impeached by a Senate vote of 61-20 on Aug. 31. Rousseff had been convicted of using bank credits to manipulate the country’s budget.

Banging pots-andpans, Venezuelan protesters expressed their disapproval of Nicolas Maduro as he passed through a district in early September. The incident underscores Maduro’s unpopularity.

Georgetown University announced on Sept.

1 that it regretted a decision it made in 1838 to sell 272 slaves. It offered to provide an admissions advantage to the descendants of those slaves as compensation.

North Korea announced on Friday that it had developed a nuclear warhead capable of fitting onto a missile.

The U.S. and South Korea have vowed to find ways to further sanction North Korea.

SEE FCCLA ON PAGE 3

well known as Nakakon, which is where anime nerds alike come together to dress up, Aug. 29, E127 was roleplay, buy merchanoverflowing with 40 dise and socialize.

“I hope we make a members-- nearly triple last year’s member- lot of money and we all ship-- when Anime Club get to go to Naka-kon,” had their first meetup of Heller said.

In order to goto Nathe year.

During this meeting, ka-kon, the club plans senior club president to do many fundraisers.

Anime E r i n Club Heller will be a n d “It’s about bep u t senior ing unique and ting up v i c e weird: it’s a good their ] presicoffee d e n t thing that everysales Faithone needs to emonce l y n n again brace.”

Hoot h i s fard, -- SENIOR year to along FAITHLYNN raise w i t h t h e other HOOFARD SAID money offias well cers, as Tkicked off the new club year shirt sales.

While Naka-kon by going over the club glamorous rules, along with the sounds and fun, this is not the club goals of this year.

This year, they hope club’s only goal.

“We want to help out to repeat their success from last year and visit an anime convention SEE ANIME ON hosted in Kansas City, PAGE 3 ELIZABETH ALEXANDER STAFF WRITER

Key club launches service year MIKAYLA LARKIN BLUE M ORGANIZATIONS EDITOR

Key Club, known for community and school service, plans to start the year by making toys for the Riley County Animal Shelter.

To make the toys the 30-40 members of the chapter will collect or buy T-shirts and tie them to make a tug-of-war toy.

More members are welcome, according to Maiesha Hlssain, TITLE. “The more people the better,” she said.

Hlssain says that the Key Club mottos is “you can help yourself by helping the community.”

To that end, besides the dog toys project, Key Club will continue to collect the school’s recycling on the first and third Wednesday of every month. Sept. 16 and 17 members will go to HyVee to hand out packets of peanuts to receive donations for the club.

Before Christmas the members are going to try to make snackpacks for the kids who don’t have access to food outside of school. Once the snack packs are compiled they will be taken to a local church to distribute to kids who normally rely on the school for breakfast and lunch.

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2 OPINIONS Kaepernick sparks conversations about oppression VOLUME 104 • ISSUE 3 • SEPT. 13, 2016 VISIT MHSMENTOR.COM

Colin Kaepernick, quarterback for San Francisco 49ers professional football team, sparked a debate across the nation after he sat down during the national anthem at a recent game. The Mentor editorial board discussed the protest and the various complications of the matter. While there is no answer as to whether or not he was wrong or right, Kaepernick achieved his goal of starting conversations about oppression.

The situation is multifaceted and the entire world is criticizing different factors of the circumstances, making it difficult to come to a specific conclusion.

Taking respect completely out of the equation, Kaepernick has a constitutional right to

sit during the national anthem. Yes, veterans fight for people’s rights and that deed should be respected, but people’s rights include the option to sit during the national anthem and the Pledge of Allegiance.

Kaepernick released several statements as to why he chose to sit, attributing it to oppression of the black community.

“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” Kaepernick said in an interview after the game. “To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with mur-

der.”

Kaepernick is clearly better off than a lot of his community; he’s a professional athlete. However, that does not mean

grown up. Money does not exclude anyone from discrimination, and he wouldn’t be the first or only celebrity to confess that he has been a victim

“Kaepernick is clearly better off than a lot of his community; he’s a professional athlete. However, that does not mean anything in terms of oppression. His financial and social status now has absolutely nothing to do with how people who don’t know him treat him or how he may have grown up.” anything in terms of oppression. His financial and social status now has absolutely nothing to do with how people who don’t know him treat him or how he may have

of oppression.

Obviously, the entire situation was overt and was intended to draw attention. It just seems to be unclear as to what, or who, the attention was

supposed to be placed on. The movement is a hot issue at this moment in time given all of the police brutality and hate crimes against blacks and other people of color, so it would make complete sense to sit down for that purpose.

Nevertheless, Kaepernick wasn’t the most popular NFL player up until now and sales of his jersey have spiked since the event. It’s difficult to see oppression as the sole reason for Kaepernick sitting.

America’s priorities also came under fire after the controversy flared. Millions of massacres, sexual assaults, domestic abuse cases and kidnappings go unnoticed every single day and one man sitting down during the national anthem at a sporting event is what the nation loses

its mind over. Indeed, it’s a respect issue. Our nation as a whole seems to feel disregarded and attacked. However, it’s not a people issue. Humans are not physically being hurt by this and people’s safety should be what matters the most.

In conclusion, Kaepernick sitting down during the national anthem may have been disrespectful, but it was for the right reason. There were probably ulterior motives, but his main purpose -- to start conversations about oppression -- was a valid reason to stay seated, disrespectful or not. There is no answer as to whether he was right or wrong, because he was both depending on the aspect that’s acknowledged.

Recognize bee are going extinct, save them Brock Turner still rapist, shouldn’t have been released

If you follow me on any social media, you have probably seen that I talk a lot about saving the bees. This has become a really important topic for me and I honestly have no idea why besides the fact that I love animals.

Saving the b e e s is a lot m o r e import a n t t h a n m o s t of you think.

B e e s p o l linate flowers, plants and crops and if they did not pollinate these crops, we would have very little food. They are a huge part of our agricultural system and contribute about $15 billion to crop value, and that is just in the United States. Without bees, almonds, avocados, apples, watermelon and even coffee would not exist, and I know that a big majority of students at our school would not be able to function without their morning coffee.

We need to start helping the bee population because if they

virus would stop infecting people, this pesticide raid was not beneficial in the sense that millions of valuable bees died this week because of careless humans. We need to be more careful in what we do in the environment to help save the lives of the bees that help us live.

Now, if you’re wondering how you can help bring up the bee population, here are some ideas: plant flowers outside your house or in your neighborhood and don’t put pesticide on them, or consider becoming a backyard bee-

keeper. You can also help by buying clothing or jewelry involving bees from companies that give some or all of their profits to organizations that are helping to save bees.

Bumblebay.com is a great T-shirt company that donates 10 percent of their profit towards saving the bees.

The Bumble Bee Co. is also a great place to buy bracelets, as they donate a portion of their proceeds to Greenpeace, a peop l e p o w e r e d movem e n t fighting for a green future for our a n i mals, forests, oceans, and environment as a whole.

Even though you think your impact may be little when you plant a flower, you are making a huge difference to many bees in your area. So the next time that you see a bee and try to swat it down and kill it, remember the impact they have us as humans and our world.

Remember that they fuel the coffee you bring to school every day. Remember that to stay alive, we need to save the bees.

TAYLOR BULLOCK STAFF WRITER

If you intentionally kill someone, you're a murderer. If you rob someone, you're a thief. If you rape someone, you’re just a misunderstood college athlete who made a bad decision. Doesn’t sound right, does it?

No, because if you rape someone you’re (yeah, you guessed it), a rapist.

For anyone who doesn't know who Brock Turner is, I’ll give you a quick summary.

Turner was a swimmer for Stanford University who was sentenced in June for the sexual assault and rape of an unconscious woman.

Both Turner and the victim were intoxicated at the time. To some,

QUESTION

OF

The Mentor is always accepting submissions from the public at mhsmentor@gmail.com.

go, we go. Humans are destroying wild habitats and creating climate change which is a major part of why bees are dying. Bees are being killed by the use of pesticide in the environment.

For example, millions of bees died this week in South Carolina due to humans spraying pesticide in hopes to kill the spread of Zika. Although killing mosquitoes that are spreading this virus would be beneficial in hope that the dangerous

THE

RILEY TAYLOR GUEST COLUMNIST

WEEK

“Weather and all the cheap candy after Halloween,” sophomore Trinity Price, @tfp_boo

“I can’t wait till the plague gets me,“ junior Emma Lansdowne, @epicemma55

GRAPHIC BY VANESSA GUVELE

that would still be looked at as a heinous crime.

To others he simply made a drunken mistake because college kids make mistakes all the time,right?

Turner’s crimes could’ve bought him up to a 14-year prison sentence. Instead he was let off with six months of jail time, three years of probation, a sex offender rehabilitation program and a lifelong sex offender registration.

Win-win, right? Wrong. This is a prime example of rape culture and the perks of having white privilege in America.

No, I do not believe all white Americans are privileged. Though if you happen to be a straight, rich, white man, it’s safe to say I will not feel any sympathy of any kind if you were to tell me you’ve been systematically oppressed.

If you think the outcome of his actions were unfair like I do, then here’s a big surprise for

you. He was recently released after serving three months of his six month sentence for good behavior. The system really showed him, right?

To see someone able to get away after such sickening charges brought against them is just a disappointment altogether.

I wholeheartedly support the protests revolved around Turner's release and I encourage people to speak out and voice their own opinions on this as well whether that be through protests or social media. Turner will be walking free while the victim will likely be living afraid and hurt for awhile. The victim shaming has to stop and we can absolutely not keep letting those like Turner off with these short warning sentences. The government has failed the victim involved in this and now it's up to the people to let it be known that this is not acceptable.

WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO ABOUT FALL? “Halloween,“ junior Marta Cantu @marta_cantu17 “Football, football and more football,” senior Kevin Kim, @kevvkim “Attending football games because I’ve waited three long years to finally be at the front of the student section. And my bday too,“ senior Aaron Castro, @a_castro

NEXT EDITION QUESTION: WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF FOOTBALL SEASON?

MHS deserves respect despite illness outbreak Don’t just stop suicide, understand it

It was the first volleyball game of the season and the mixture of excitement and nerves could be felt throughout the gym. I walked over to the scoring table with my coach and other teammate for the captain’s meeting. I held out my hand to shake the other team’s, Seaman High School, hands as a courtesy of introduc-

ing ourselves and showing good sportsmanship when I was quickly told something along the lines of, “Oh, no we don’t want to shake hands with you because of all the sickness going around.”

I withdrew my hand and thought nothing of it.

However, in the game of volleyball both teams approach the net before and after the game to say ‘good luck’ or ‘good game.’ Instead of highfiving the other team while saying this, we had to wave at them.

As everyone in Manhattan knows, the high school has had some trouble with what is being called the “plague.”

Along with the nausea, colds and allergies are keeping students from coming to school in order to maintain their health. I understand that Seaman was just aiming to keep all of their players healthy. Throughout the game our team was touching the volleyball all the time and therefore germs could be exchanged that way, by the logic that they were going by.

In order to keep the germs from the ball away, the team passed around hand sanitizer each time they stepped off the court.

Print Editor-in-Chief/News Editor -- Angie Moss Online Editor-in-Chief -- David Fliter Opinions Editor -- Erick Echegaray Features Editor -- Angie Moss Sports Editor -- Jacob Clanton Entertainment Editor -- Preston Harrison

Trending Editor -- Savannah Cherms Content Editor -- Anna Hupp Copy Editor -- Rick Brown Photo Editor -- Dylan Thomas Graphic Artists -- Elizabeth Alexander and Vanessa Guvele Business Manager-- Lily Colburn Social Media Managers -- Savannah Cherms and Jeremy Woolever

Staff Writers/Photographers -Hasan Al-basri, Cora Astin, Mira Bhandari, Alli Bruce, Taylor Bullock, Karen Estrada, Na’Qyah Jackson, Megan Klug, Mikayla Larkin, Jordan Lutz, Alyse Maender, Karmen Martinie, Bhawantha Nilaweera, Johnathon Ostermann, Lauren Race and R.J. Walling.

MEGAN KLUG BLUE M EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

SEE RESPECT ON PAGE 3

DAVID FLITER ONLINE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

National Suicide Prevention Week is an annual awareness week that spans from Sept.

6 to Sept. 11. While the overall goal is to spread awareness of the epidemic of suicide and depression, it is also a week to learn about the signs of people going through mental illnesses. Understanding the Videographers -- Gavin Larios, Chandler Mixon, and Hans Ahorro Kristy Nyp -- Adviser Distribution -- Thanks to Kim Schnee’s class - Caleb Barnes, Oscar Casas, Angel Cid, Charlie Dickey, Karl Drown, Rachel Efken, Terra Harvey, Lynne Jones, Colten Kirk, Josh Kohls, Kahari Lowery, Allie Parker, Alesha

behavior of those with suicidal thoughts and depression is just as important as stopping suicide in the act.

Suicide and depression come in countless forms, and are sometimes completely undetectable just by looking at someone. Warning signs of suicide and depression come in the way people talk and act, such as talking about death or hopelessness constantly, or being indifferent to partaking in dangerous situations or activities.

Many people with these mental illnesses also feel like they are a burden to the ones they love.

I realize at this point I am making myself seem like an authority on mental illnesses, but in truth it is because it is something that I have had to overcome and have had many friends and family that have had to overcome it as well. From my own experience, I shut myself out completely from those I loved and spent my time dwelling on my purpose and the point of continuing to control what felt like was a sinking ship of a life. It wasn’t until I actually threatened to take

Pearl, Megan Ritthisorn, Mythias Satterfield, Dave Sherwin, and Hannah Sullivan.

The Mentor is published each Tuesday that school is in session at Manhattan High School, 2100 Poyntz Ave. Manhattan, Kan. Telephone (785) 5872114. 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 and National Scholastic Press Association. The Mentor is a public forum. E-mail us at mhsmentor@gmail.com

SEE SUICIDE ON PAGE 3

VOLUME 104 • ISSUE 3 • SEPT. 13, 2016 VISIT MHSMENTOR.COM

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FEATURES

Sophomore Terra Harvey gets help with petting and walking alongside a horse at Camp Wood.

PHOTO COURTESY OF CADE ROBERTS

Camp Wood provides students opportunity to bond with classmates ALYSE MAENDER STAFF WRITER

The students of Interpersonal skills exchanged a day of notes for horseback riding and tardy bells for archery.

Students woke up early on Aug. 31 in order to catch a bus that left at 6:45 a.m. for Camp Wood. The camp gave students an opportunity to participate in various activities that, otherwise,

would not be available to them such as horseback riding, archery and a high ropes course.

“I think the best part was just seeing people accomplish what I didn't think I could do,” senior Isaac Sorell said.

One of the tasks that Sorell had difficulty with was scaling a 50 feet structure in the ropes course. Sorell, like many of his fellow classmates, overcame fear, but not

without a few bumps and

“IPS is important because it teaches you to be able to communicate ... It shows that everyone can have fun, and there’s nothing stopping us from all having fun together.”

-- SENIOR ADELAIDE BLISS SAID.

bruises. At the end of the

‘I AM THE WATER THAT HATES THE RAIN’ Video shared on Twitter introduces Stone’s slam poetry, goes viral among community

Social media is becoming the root to discovery of all types.

Nowadays, it seems as though everyone has at least one sort of social media app on their phone. Within those apps are what seem to be infinite amounts of videos. The talent you'll find in these is incredible. But, the people and their stories behind them are far more intriguing.

In the past week many students may have came across a video posted by junior Addy Stone. The video includes her reciting a

slam poetry piece she wrote titled “I Am The Water That Hates Rain.”

With 128 retweets and 438 likes, the school is definitely buzzing about it.

“I kind of knew people would favor it, but I didn't know people would like it that much,” Stone said.

This isn't the first time she's shared her work online. If you scroll down her Twitter timeline you may just run into another one of her her many pieces, such as a piece she has titled “She Was,” a poem full of the pain endured when loving someone. Not only does she write poetry, but short stories as well.

“I want to write a book

SUICIDE FROM PAGE 2

FCCLA FROM PAGE 1

TAYLOR BULLOCK STAFF WRITER

myself out of this world that those around me even realized how bad it was. I am not blaming those around me though, because in all honesty I wanted as few people involved with me as possible.

The most common theme I have seen with those struggling through depression and suicidal thoughts is mindset of “No one will miss me when I am gone.” I can assure you that this is not true. With my own experience and others, the parents end up almost as deeply scarred as the person struggling.

My own parents have been worrying that my own struggles will return and overcome me again even though I moved past that almost five years ago. I promise you, your loved ones will miss you every day until they themselves pass on.

I share my own experience to illustrate how difficult it can be to know if someone you love is suffering. No matter how unnecessary you think it is, always check up on how your friends and family are doing. It could literally be the difference between life and death for someone. Simply asking someone how their day was or letting them know that you are there and that you care could be enough for a person to step back from the brink.

ple,’” junior Jessica Bennett said.

Then, after a lunch break, Laubach spoke to all of the club members.

“We did a lot of screaming that day,” Coke said. “It was fun.

[Laubach] had a really cool playlist on Spotify.

He had like 600 songs in one category … and as part of an activity he’d be like, ‘sing along to Lion King’ and we’d all do it.”

Students say they enjoyed the conference.

“It was so amazing, Coke said. “I went to nationals this summer and it was so much fun and this was just as fun. And it was here in Kansas, and I was like, ‘I love FCCLA so much.’”

“It’s a lot of good opportunities,” Klabough said. “I’m interested in sports medicine, and there’s actually a STAR Event for sports nutrition.”

ANIME FROM PAGE 1

the school, help out the community, and kind of show the world that anime is not a bad thing,” Hoofard said. “It’s about being unique and weird: it’s a good thing that everyone needs to embrace.”

trip, he returned with a

and I'm always going to write,” Stone said.

With only beginning to write her sophomore year, she does have big plans and expectations for her writing. Stone hopes to perform some of her pieces live in the future.

Those who have seen the Twitter video last week were left wondering if the heartwrenching and emotional piece is fact or fiction. In fact, “I Am The Water That Hates Rain” is based on true events of her life.

“What I posted on Twitter, that's true. It was hard to post because it's personal,” Stone said.

full bruise along his left RESPECT FROM PAGE 2 The reasoning behind all of this excessive cleansing was that our team was “potentially contagious.” Now, any sport that you participate in requires good health and a good amount of physical exertion. If we were sick ourselves the possibility to partake in a game would be ridiculous. The potential for a handshake to spread an illness that none of the players contain is extremely slim, if not impossible. In regards to us being carriers, it would be quite possible considering how sick students have been. Being a carrier does not mean that by shaking hands it will spread the illness. The most likely way to get sick would be sharing a drink, which would not happen. Especially with the hand sanitizer ready

forearm from the archery activity due to the bow hitting his arm.

Another opportunity Camp Wood provided was a chance to enjoy bonding with their classmates through various teambuilding activities.

“I think it really bonded the class together.”

Sorell said.

Horseback riding was another activity that was popular among students during the trip.

“I think my favorite part was horseback riding because it brought a lot of joy to a lot of people,” senior Adelaide Bliss said. “IPS is important because it teaches you to be able to communicate with people and how to work with everybody. It shows that everyone can have fun, and there’s nothing stopping us from all having fun together.”

for use, the team very well could have shaken our hands and then put hand sanitizer on before starting the game. It would have been showing better sportsmanship, but also allow the team to feel protected.

Manhattan High School does not have a disease that will wipe out an entire volleyball team. We do not have a legitimate plague that could easily be passed from one person to the next from a single handshake. Stop treating our school like we need to be under quarantine.

The other team we played that night was Junction City. J.C. is less than 30 minutes away, and the rivalry is strong. I figured that they would not be as hung up on shaking hands as Seaman, but boy was I wrong. We waved at each other once again, because of our “possi-

bly contagious” hands.

Come on Junction, if you were going to get the same illnesses that we have you would have gotten them by now.

Yes, our school had a ton of people sent home due to being sick. However, opposing schools should not treat us differently.

The football game against Washburn Rural had the theme of “Doctor Out” for the same reason. Although the theme was changed to “When I Grow Up,” most of the students still showed up in scrubs and germ masks. I will admit, it was a clever and funny way to make a joke without being disrespectful, but let’s all be mature within 6A school’s and keep good sportsmanship. I promise you will not come down with the black plague off of a high five.

THE VICTORIES LESS NOTICED

Top: Junior Varsity boys cross country competes at Warner Park last week.

PHOTO BY HASAN AL-BASRI Left: Junior Hana Tamura goes for a tip during a J.V. volleyball game last week.

PHOTO BY JORDAN LUTZ Right: Freshman football player avoids a tackle in a home football game against Washburn Rural that took place last week.

PHOTO BY KAREN ESTRADA

HAVE YOU PICKED UP YOUR 2016 BLUE M YEARBOOK? WE STILL HAVE A TON OF COPIES THAT HAVEN’T BEEN CLAIMED, SO STOP

BY C107 AFTER SCHOOL TO CLAIM YOUR YEARBOOK!

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SPORTS

Cross Country teams have strong showing on home turf JOHN OSTERMANN STAFF WRITER

With a state title on the girls’ side and a fourth place finish in state on the boys’ last year, the cross country teams were geared up and ready for their first meet at Warner Park on Sept. 3. Both finished in first place and had many runners cross the line at the front of the pack.

Boys co-captain junior Cooper Schroeder finished in fourth place just behind teammates junior Logan Logback and freshman Matthew Pickering.

“I really liked our pack time and how we worked together, and I think it’s going to help us in the

future and help us in the big meets because we have each other to work with,” Schroeder said.

Running in a pack and working together in cross country is a big help: when the runners pack together the ones in the middle and towards the back are able to draft or run without any wind resistance, making it easier to keep up a pace. This technique is what birds use when they migrate -- the stronger ones run at the front and absorb the wind and then, if they get tired, they move to the middle and someone else takes their place.

The boys team ran in a pack well but head coach Susan Melgares wanted the girls to pack up better.

Senior Jacob Ashmore, junior Trenton Juenemann and senior Nolan Blankenau run in the Manhattan Invitational Saturday. Manhattan High boys would finish in first.

PHOTO BY HASAN ALBASRI

“For the girls, we need to pack up a little bit, close our gap, but the girls that were back a little bit, I have complete faith that they can close that,” Melgares said. The girls team performed well with senior Cara Melgares finishing in first place, senior Amber Gloria and junior Joy Gruenbacher coming in fifth and sixth.

The teams had a strong first showing and they will be working hard to improve their teamwork and their individual skills. Although it was their first competition, it will not be their hardest, so the runners have to be ready to face those oncoming challenges together and as a team.

Soccer continues winless season Girls golf has strong showing ERICK ECHEGARAY OPINIONS EDITOR

As if it couldn’t get any worse for coach Frank Alonso and the Manhattan boys soccer team, they once again failed to win their first game of the season, losing the remaining games in the Titan Classic tournament.

The Indians came down against Wichita North and Wichita Northwest 5-0 and 4-1 respectively “We play good at certain times but intensity drops constantly,” senior captain Conall Root said. “I really don’t know, [we] just don’t have a high workrate

or

intensity level.”

The Indians have now lost four straight games and have started 0-4 for the first time in Alonso’s coaching tenure. Manhattan had not even scored a goal until senior captain Angel Fraire scored against Wichita Northwest early in the game.

“Overall we’re a bad team, we’re really good individually so we have to learn how to work together and not individually. My goal doesn’t really matter, we didn’t win,” Fraire said.

This result has now prompted Alonso to examine his team more closely as they look

ahead to their first home game against Shawnee Heights. “[Alonso] was very frustrated with our performance,” Root said. “He’s just looking for players to show up and perform.”

“He’s saying that so we can get everything together and play like we were playing during the summer.”

Fraire said. “We have to win the next game.

It’s a home game.”

The Indians will make their home opener today against Shawnee Heights at Bishop Stadium.

JOHN OSTERMANN STAFF WRITER

After a strong opening at the Shawnee Invitational, the girls golf team came to play in Salina and delivered a first place performance.

With a team score of 168 the girls performed very well and improved over their last performance.

“The nerves kind of went away because we had already had our first performance and we had more time to work on what went wrong in our last meet,” sophomore Camy McAtee said.

Similar to their previous meet, the weather was not a big help with winds rising to 15 miles per hour. This caused

all the players to change which club they would regularly be using.

They would club up, or use a stronger club so they can hit the ball harder, while shooting into the wind. The golfers would club down, or use a club so the shot is less powerful, when shooting with the wind.

“When you are going into the wind you always want to club up and when you are shooting with the wind, depending on how far the shot is, you should club down,” junior Macie Myers said.

Myers had a strong performance, finishing in first place, helping the team make their impressive showing.

“I definitely improved

my putting over last week, but I am still unsatisfied with how I performed. I know that I can shoot better and do more to help our team be the best that we can be,” Myers said.

With a strong showing, the Lady Indians appear to be trending up. However, the season is not yet over, and they are ready for what happens next.

“I am super excited about what the team has already accomplished and can not wait to see how we will do in the weeks to come. These girls are like my family and I am excited about the rest of the season with them,” McAtee said.

Football beats Washburn Rural in weather-shortened game JACOB CLANTON SPORTS EDITOR

In football, there is a strategy known as “icing the kicker.” This is when a team calls a timeout as the other team’s kicker is getting set to try a field goal. Normally, only the teams ice the kicker. Friday night though, Mother Nature decided to join in.

Officials were forced to delay the game with 1:14 remaining in the third quarter due to lightning in the area. This came right after an MHS touchdown, but before the extra point was attempted.

Even with weather delays of an hour and

21 minutes and an hour and 26 minutes, Manhattan High (2-0) beat Washburn Rural (1-1) 28-6, in a shortened game. The game was called with 6:41 remaining in the game.

During the delays, the Indians were able to work on their plan of attack and attempt to keep focus.

“We were able to watch film,” senior quarterback Ian Trapp said.

“We were able to think about schemes we could run against them. It’s kind of hard to keep your focus during a break that long. When we needed to go back out there, we got our focus back.”

Even with the unexpected rain and wind, Manhattan didn’t feel the need to change their gameplan.

“We only had to worry about the wind being against us for a minute or two [in the third quarter],” Trapp said, “so that really wasn’t that big of a deal.

Then the fourth quarter came, and we had the wind at our backs, and we were still going to be able to pass out of that.”

Trapp went 6-10 with 114 yards passing, and rushed for 84 yards and a touchdown. Senior running back Iverson Robb added 131 yards and three touch-

downs of his own on the ground. Trapp said that would be helpful to the team in the future.

“It shows that we’re more versatile,” Trapp said. “It shows that a lot of different people can make a lot of different plays. If I have an off night, [Robb] can pick it up, and they can’t really scout against that.”

The Indians were also effective defensively, holding Washburn Rural to 152 yards offensively and only six points. Senior linebacker Zephry Killham came away with one of the plays of the game, blocking Rural’s field goal attempt

in

the third quarter.

However, the Junior Blues seemed to gain many more yards than that due to penalties. Manhattan picked up seven penalties for 69 yards. Trapp didn’t feel like that was too big of an issue.

“Going in, we maybe kind of predicted that we might have some trouble with Washburn Rural having their home referee staff there,” Trapp said. “It’s a lot of little things that we don’t get called in games that they were calling, and we kind of adjusted and picked it up, and kind of cleaned it up later in the game.”

Manhattan stays on the road this week with a game at Highland Park. The team’s biggest struggle is sustaining their drive.

“We just need to keep the same mentality,” Trapp said. “We don’t need to let up from a different opponent who maybe isn’t as high quality as some of the other teams we’ve faced. We need to get more disciplined as we have harder opponents coming up in the schedule.”

Tennis starts season off with success

son,” Robben said.

MEGAN KLUG Along with the Topeka BLUE M EDITOR-IN-CHIEF After a delayed start, the tennis team began the season strongly.

The Varsity team travelled to Junction City to compete in their first quad. Along with the weather difficulties, the team was down a player.

Senior Lauren Robben had the symptoms of the illness spreading at Manhattan High, and therefore could not participate.

However, she returned for the next meet at Topeka High. The team placed first to start off the season with success.

“It was a really good way to start the sea-

High meet, the tennis team travelled the same week at Seaman High School. They repeated their success by having each team member medal individually.

“Last year none of us would have medalled and we saw a lot of improvement this year,” Robben said.

Even though the team has started off successfully, they are still searching for ways to improve their game.

“We just need to be working on fundamentals and getting better in practice,” junior Neely Joyce said.

Off the court, the girls are extremely close.

Due to the lack of seniors, Robben and Joyce initiate team bonding. “[Robben] and I initiate a lot of things but then everyone does their part and follows through,” Joyce said.

The team enjoys having a younger generation, including the three freshmen that have bumped up to Varsity.

“It’s nice to have a younger generation and know that when I leave I can pass the torch to the underclassmen and know they’ll succeed next year,” Robben said.

Volleyball begins busy season JORDAN LUTZ BLUE M BUSINESS MANAGER

With two tournaments in three days, the girls Varsity volleyball team has been busy. Their first tournament was at Seaman on Sept 8. The Lady Indians beat Silver Lake and Seaman but lost to Shawnee Heights.

“It was a really good

first quad for us,” junior outside hitter Meg Auten said. “We worked really well together as a team. We played really well for our first game.”

Their second tournament took the girls to Olathe South on Sept 10. Losing to Blue Valley North and Northwest, the Varsity team succeeded in beating Lawrence High, Shawnee Mission

South and Olathe South.

“We faced a couple of competitive teams,” senior Jaylie Thornton said. “Overall we were pretty successful.”

The team’s next meet is today at 5 in the North Gym with Rossville and Clay County rounding out the triangle.

“We’re pretty excited,” Thornton said, “and hoping for the best.”

Junior Raegan Poulson preps for her match at the home meet on Sept 6.

PHOTO BY R.J. WALLING

Are you interested in writing, design, photography or art? The Mentor and Blue M need you! If you’re interested, stop by C107 and talk to Mrs. Nyp today.

VOLUME 104 • ISSUE 3 • SEPT. 13, 2016 VISIT MHSMENTOR.COM

5

PAGE

ENTERTAINMENT

Musical auditions show promising production

Top: Students rehearse a performance.

Bottom Left: Students take instruction from David Allington.

Bottom Middle: Senior Hannah Phillips sings for Janie Brokeneki.

Bottom Right: Senior Wesley Danielson reads lines to drama teacher Linda Uthoff.

PHOTOS BY KARMEN MARTINIE

SAVANNAH CHERMS TRENDING EDITOR

It’s fall musical time.

Hundreds of hopeful thespians and newbie actors filed into Rezac, gunning for a spot in this year’s production of “The Drowsy Chaperone.”

The musical is dubbed a “show-within-a-show” that takes place in the 1920s. The musical had a total of 13 speaking

roles, so the competition was tight.

The audition process was a simple one made of three stations. One was for reading lines to drama teacher Linda Uthoff, one for singing for Janie Brokeneki and finally one for performing a dance routine for choreographer David Allington.

“My audition was awesome,” junior Samuel

Clark said. “Sometimes it’s only seniors that get a lead and sophomores almost never get anything so as a junior this is a really solid middle ground.”

Clark earned himself the lead role of the best man, George, after being one of the only men who knew the tap routine during auditions.

“I had no inhibitions,” Clark said about his audition. “It felt smoother

[than last year] and I felt a lot more confident in what I am. I was in ‘The Addams Family’ this summer and I got my first bigger role and that really got me to stop caring what people think.

So, when I went into auditions this time I was ready to just give it my all.”

After auditions was all said and done, the lead male role was given to

last year’s “Guys and Dolls” lead, senior Grant Williams.

“I knew what to expect this year which made it a lot easier and more relaxed,” Grant said.

“Last year I went in totally blind and somehow got the lead, but this year was laid back and I wasn’t worried at all. It was just fun.”

While “The Drowsy Chaperone” isn’t the

most “well-known” musical, Williams and Clark both say that it is not one to miss.

“The speaking role characters, I know personally and they are all amazing actors and they will do a really great job with this production,” Clark said.

iOS 10 not life-changing, still worth downloading ANGIE MOSS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Big things are happening in the Apple world this month, from the unveiling of the long-awaited iPhone 7 to the software update that Apple has deemed their “biggest release yet,” iOS 10. Though it does have some cool features, it’s certainly not life-altering.

The software wasn’t set to be released until today, but it was recently leaked online. After further investigation, I saw that the software was signed off by Apple still and it is secure.

Ten minutes later, I had contentment. The very first thing I noticed

was the fact that my phone wakes up as soon as I pick it up. I don’t need to push the power or the home buttons anymore to wake it up.

Next was how the notifications appeared. Apple has strayed away from the simple rectangle that they’ve implemented for years and they have now adopted something equally as sleek: bubbles. Then I saw that I also have the ability to slide right and see reminders, news stories, events in my calendar and the weather. Keep in mind that I had not even unlocked my phone as this point in my adventure.

After pushing my

A Day To Remember’s ‘Bad Vibrations’ mediocre SAVANNAH CHERMS TRENDING EDITOR

Three years after A Day To Remember’s “Common Courtesy” smashed all expectations, the band has just released their seventh full length album “Bad Vibrations.” And it is nothing to get too excited about.

The title track “Bad Vibrations” is a much angrier song than one might expect after listening to some of the tracks from previous albums, with heavy vocals throughout the entire song. This song is one that redeems the rest of the album a bit for me. While the breakdowns are a bit recycled, “Bad Vibrations” is a quintessential A Day To Remember song. Catchy and angry and ultimately a relatable track.

“Paranoia,” the second track on the album, is where things go south.

With stereotypical lyrics, guitar chords and breakdowns, “Paranoia” is definitely a song I hated on the first few listens. I forgave the repetitive nature of the song at first because it was the first single released, but that’s really the only purpose the song serves. It isn’t anything new, fresh or unique, and it kind of feels like a blind reach to appeal to be radio friendly without giving up too much of their old sound.

From there the next few tracks fall victim to the same fate. While A Day To Remember likes to dabble in the pop punk realm of the scene, these songs don’t fit there either.

With a mixture of radio metal and teenybopper pop punk, the whole midsection of this album feels way

too forced. Lyrics that every 15-year-old would caption their Instagram photos with.

McKinnon’s vocals redeem some of these songs, and I definitely don’t hate every song on this record. “Same About You” has a nice combination of hardcore instrumentals that surprisingly compliment McKinnon’s clean vocals. The last song on the record, “In Florida,” nicely closes the album and is a great shout out to the band’s hometown.

Overall I was unimpressed by “Bad Vibrations.” The album had some redeeming qualities, like McKinnon’s vocals and instrumentals that really showed off the talent of the band. However this album felt like a step in a completely different direction that I am not sure how I feel about.

home button -- which is how you use your fingerprint to unlock your iPhone now -- I noticed a new app: Home. This is a new feature that allows iPhone users to access security systems within their homes. As a 17-year-old, I didn’t see much of a use for this feature.

The next thing I did was open messages and that’s when I saw some crazy changes.

To start with, you can now send stickers and pre-loaded pictures, memes and gifs. What’s next? The ability to draw in your texts. You can send texts in your own handwriting or you can draw little masterpiec-

es and send them to your friends. Although I haven’t tried it yet, you can also change the appearance of your conversation bubbles.

Some other minor changes include photo album appearance, music organization and a new and improved mapping system.

All in all, the new software has a very sleek design and the opportunity to be extremely functional and useful if used correctly. If you’re on the edge about whether or not you want to go ahead and update, go for it. It’s not all it’s hyped up to be, but it isn’t a waste of time either.

‘Stranger Things’ takes television by storm MIRA BHANDARI STAFF WRITER

Sci-Fi and ‘80s nostalgia meet just plain weird in the hit Netflix series “Stranger Things”. After its premiere in July, the show has proven itself to be a skyrocketing success with a 9.1/10 IMDb rating and 90 percent from Rotten Tomatoes.

The supernatural mystery follows the suspicious vanishing of Hawkins Middle School AV Club member and Dungeons and Dragons enthusiast Will Byers. The unlikely team of a cynical po-

lice chief, a paranoid mother, two angst-ridden teens and four walkietalkie wielding kids piece together the clues and discover that the truth behind Will’s disappearance is riddled with the stuff of nightmares. Secretive governments, borderline quantum physics and telekinetic little girls all arise questions that keep viewers reaching for their popcorn and clinging to the edge of their seats.

“Stranger Things,” taking place in 1983 Indiana, also incorporates retro twists into its plot lines. Scenes from the show make frequent

references to classic films such as “E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial” and “The Goonies.” The soundtrack includes ‘80s hits like The Clash’s “Should I Stay or Should I Go” and a synth-inspired main theme as well.

The first season consisted of eight thrilling episodes that left audiences begging for more. But have no fear Stranger Things fans, as Netflix has confirmed that the show will be returning for a second season on a date to be determined in 2017.

FOLLOW THE MHS MENTOR ON SNAPCHAT TODAY!

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PAGE

TRENDING

6

THE PLAGUE ENSUES As I’m sure you’ve all heard, a mysterious illness has been spreading through Manhattan High, taking vicim after victim. With symptoms like chills, vomitting and diziness, students and parents have been buzzing about staying healthy and trying to avoid “The MHS Plague.”

Here’s what we know.

NHS creates sickness PSA KARMEN MARTINI STAFF WRITER

National Honors Society is a group of people that are active in the community and in the school. They also like to help raise awareness of issues around school.

On Sept. 6, a few NHS members got together after school with the school nurse Robin Smith to help address the issue of spreading germs around the school. Smith wanted to help the staff and the student body here at

Manhattan High be more healthy and help prevent the spread of germs considering the “MHS plague” is sending people home by the dozens.

What better way to inform everyone than with a fun informational video.

Within this video, Smith had herself and the students demonstrate the proper way to wash your hands, what not to do, and what to do to help keep you and the others around you healthy.

Things like not sharing your food with others or

sharing your water bottle was executed as well as trying to not touch as many things like railings and door handles.

“We made a video to try and spread awareness about this sickness going around and we’re trying to promote healthy habits for the cold and flu season” NHS member Hannah Religa said.

Once the video is finalized, they hope to share it on social media and show it during advisory hour this week.

Above: Junior John Ostermann says no to sharing food for National Honor’s Society PSA on staying healty.

Right: Junior Lily Colburn demonstrates the right way to wash your hands to avoid spreading illnesses in light of the fast spreading disease making its way through MHS. Photo from front: Juniors Hannah Religa John Ostermann, Lily Colburn and Kendra Geisbrecht show the “wrong way” to go up and down the stairs.

PHOTOS BY BHWANTHA NILAWEERA

NHS posts hand washing posters, encourages education on staying healthy ALLI BRUCE STAFF WRITER

Since the start of school, a large number of students have been sent home due to sickness. Nobody knows for certain what the sudden cause of this illness is;

however, National Honor Society is doing their best to prevent students from getting sick. They have made colorful posters and placed them all around the school reminding us to wash our hands.

“The posters are to

educate students on how to best keep themselves healthy in times of sickness, like we have just experienced,” school nurse Robin Smith said.

With flu season just around the corner, it is expected for some kids to get sick and be sent

home. However, the number of students that have been sent home already is unusually high, even for flu season.

NHS wanted to contribute by showing us what we can do to ensure that less people will have to be sent home. Germs

spread when people touch things, so making sure people have clean hands is super important.

Our hands touch so many things throughout the day. Even simple things like touching your face can make you sick if

your hands aren’t clean.

With the unknown virus still floating around the school, NHS wants to make sure that we are doing our part too keep it from spreading.

What can you do to prevent spreading sickness?

• Wash your hands! Soap and • Do NOT share food and water, hand sanitier won’t cut drinks! Waterfalling your it with these little germs. friends water bottle isn’t go• Avoid touching your face.

Germs on your hands can and will get inside your mouth and make you sick!

ing to help either. Don’t do it.

• Sleep! Rest is alwasy important, but especially in the face of an illness

• Avoid touching other things that everyone else touches.

Wipe down doorknobs, keyboards and mouses.

• Cough into your shoulder.

No one wants your airborn germs floating around.

MHS illness not rare, could be worse ‘Plague’ Survivors Live to Tell the Tale LILY COLBURN BUSINESS MANAGER

With all of the attention the mystery illness that is spreading through Manhattan High School, it’s easy to think that this is a rare occurrence, but that is far from the truth.

Illnesses spread through schools all of the time. In 2009, H1N1 spread through schools and the general population like wildfire, and Staphylococcus infections often spread through high schools, including MHS. What makes the “plague” different is that its origin and what it is exactly are still unknown, even weeks later, but MHS is not the first to have an illness cloaked in mystery spread throughout

the school.

From California to New York countless schools have had a norovirus take out a sizeable portion of the school population. Noroviruses are a classic example of quickly spreading illnesses but there are more and less common mysterious illnesses that have spread throughout schools.

In 2012 followed the story of a developing outbreak in Le Roy, New York. In a small high school with approximately 600 students, 18 people reported random, uncontrollable outburst of twitching.

No one knew what was going on. Many people doubted those infected, and did not believe them. They believed that people were simply making it up to get out of

school for awhile.

The school gained attention nationwide as conspiracies of what was causing this illness spread no real answers were immediately given to those who were sick. Eventually Dr. Laszlo Mechtler diagnosed those infected with conversion disorder, a mental condition in which a person has blindness, paralysis, or other nervous system (neurologic) symptoms that often cannot be explained by medical evaluation.

So while the illness that has been plaguing MHS for the past weeks may seem like a rare occurrence that could only happen here, it turns out that MHS isn’t so weird after all, and it could be more mysterious.

ELIZABETH ALEXANDER GRAPHC DESIGNER

The 2016-2017 school year started with the spread of a nasty germ throughout the school.

Over 100 students have been sent home due to symptoms of the virus, and a large percentage found themselves home for multiple days in a row.

Luckily, many students have returned back to school healthy and able to tell the tale of what experiencing “The Blue Plague” was like.

“It lasted about a week,” sophomore Jack Laswell said. “Puking, maybe some dizziness.”

Symptoms of the “plague” seem to be pretty standard: puking, nausea, dizziness, cramping and a low fever. It’s the

quick spread of the bug that has really alarmed the district. Janitors have been doing their best to ensure that every surface is wiped down and cleaned each and every day.

Not only is the district alarmed, parents are as well. Whether it be because of their own sick kids, or because they don’t want to risk exposure and spreading it to family members within their own homes.

“I think it was just exposure to people who had the plague, got better, but didn’t know they were still contagious,” junior Caleb Luck said.

Students state that more than likely, the plague is caught through simple exposure: sharing drinks and food, not covering your mouth when

coughing or sneezing-the simple things that can spread some serious germs to other students.

However, this illness is not difficult to cure.

“I just kind of laid on the couch and didn’t eat anything,” Luck said.

“Made sure to drink water because I lost so many fluids.”

Despite the alarming rates, the number of kids getting sent home each day has decreased.

While the fact stands, students are still advised to wash hands and refrain from sharing food until the illness has been contained.

VOLUME 104 • ISSUE 3 • SEPT. 13, 2016 VISIT MHSMENTOR.COM

5

PAGE

ENTERTAINMENT

Musical auditions show promising production

Top: Students rehearse a performance.

Bottom Left: Students take instruction from David Allington.

Bottom Middle: Senior Hannah Phillips sings for Janie Brokeneki.

Bottom Right: Senior Wesley Danielson reads lines to drama teacher Linda Uthoff.

PHOTOS BY KARMEN MARTINIE

SAVANNAH CHERMS TRENDING EDITOR

It’s fall musical time.

Hundreds of hopeful thespians and newbie actors filed into Rezac, gunning for a spot in this year’s production of “The Drowsy Chaperone.”

The musical is dubbed a “show-within-a-show” that takes place in the 1920s. The musical had a total of 13 speaking

roles, so the competition was tight.

The audition process was a simple one made of three stations. One was for reading lines to drama teacher Linda Uthoff, one for singing for Janie Brokeneki and finally one for performing a dance routine for choreographer David Allington.

“My audition was awesome,” junior Samuel

Clark said. “Sometimes it’s only seniors that get a lead and sophomores almost never get anything so as a junior this is a really solid middle ground.”

Clark earned himself the lead role of the best man, George, after being one of the only men who knew the tap routine during auditions.

“I had no inhibitions,” Clark said about his audition. “It felt smoother

[than last year] and I felt a lot more confident in what I am. I was in ‘The Addams Family’ this summer and I got my first bigger role and that really got me to stop caring what people think.

So, when I went into auditions this time I was ready to just give it my all.”

After auditions was all said and done, the lead male role was given to

last year’s “Guys and Dolls” lead, senior Grant Williams.

“I knew what to expect this year which made it a lot easier and more relaxed,” Grant said.

“Last year I went in totally blind and somehow got the lead, but this year was laid back and I wasn’t worried at all. It was just fun.”

While “The Drowsy Chaperone” isn’t the

most “well-known” musical, Williams and Clark both say that it is not one to miss.

“The speaking role characters, I know personally and they are all amazing actors and they will do a really great job with this production,” Clark said.

iOS 10 not life-changing, still worth downloading ANGIE MOSS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Big things are happening in the Apple world this month, from the unveiling of the long-awaited iPhone 7 to the software update that Apple has deemed their “biggest release yet,” iOS 10. Though it does have some cool features, it’s certainly not life-altering.

The software wasn’t set to be released until today, but it was recently leaked online. After further investigation, I saw that the software was signed off by Apple still and it is secure.

Ten minutes later, I had contentment. The very first thing I noticed

was the fact that my phone wakes up as soon as I pick it up. I don’t need to push the power or the home buttons anymore to wake it up.

Next was how the notifications appeared. Apple has strayed away from the simple rectangle that they’ve implemented for years and they have now adopted something equally as sleek: bubbles. Then I saw that I also have the ability to slide right and see reminders, news stories, events in my calendar and the weather. Keep in mind that I had not even unlocked my phone as this point in my adventure.

After pushing my

A Day To Remember’s ‘Bad Vibrations’ mediocre SAVANNAH CHERMS TRENDING EDITOR

Three years after A Day To Remember’s “Common Courtesy” smashed all expectations, the band has just released their seventh full length album “Bad Vibrations.” And it is nothing to get too excited about.

The title track “Bad Vibrations” is a much angrier song than one might expect after listening to some of the tracks from previous albums, with heavy vocals throughout the entire song. This song is one that redeems the rest of the album a bit for me. While the breakdowns are a bit recycled, “Bad Vibrations” is a quintessential A Day To Remember song. Catchy and angry and ultimately a relatable track.

“Paranoia,” the second track on the album, is where things go south.

With stereotypical lyrics, guitar chords and breakdowns, “Paranoia” is definitely a song I hated on the first few listens. I forgave the repetitive nature of the song at first because it was the first single released, but that’s really the only purpose the song serves. It isn’t anything new, fresh or unique, and it kind of feels like a blind reach to appeal to be radio friendly without giving up too much of their old sound.

From there the next few tracks fall victim to the same fate. While A Day To Remember likes to dabble in the pop punk realm of the scene, these songs don’t fit there either.

With a mixture of radio metal and teenybopper pop punk, the whole midsection of this album feels way

too forced. Lyrics that every 15-year-old would caption their Instagram photos with.

McKinnon’s vocals redeem some of these songs, and I definitely don’t hate every song on this record. “Same About You” has a nice combination of hardcore instrumentals that surprisingly compliment McKinnon’s clean vocals. The last song on the record, “In Florida,” nicely closes the album and is a great shout out to the band’s hometown.

Overall I was unimpressed by “Bad Vibrations.” The album had some redeeming qualities, like McKinnon’s vocals and instrumentals that really showed off the talent of the band. However this album felt like a step in a completely different direction that I am not sure how I feel about.

home button -- which is how you use your fingerprint to unlock your iPhone now -- I noticed a new app: Home. This is a new feature that allows iPhone users to access security systems within their homes. As a 17-year-old, I didn’t see much of a use for this feature.

The next thing I did was open messages and that’s when I saw some crazy changes.

To start with, you can now send stickers and pre-loaded pictures, memes and gifs. What’s next? The ability to draw in your texts. You can send texts in your own handwriting or you can draw little masterpiec-

es and send them to your friends. Although I haven’t tried it yet, you can also change the appearance of your conversation bubbles.

Some other minor changes include photo album appearance, music organization and a new and improved mapping system.

All in all, the new software has a very sleek design and the opportunity to be extremely functional and useful if used correctly. If you’re on the edge about whether or not you want to go ahead and update, go for it. It’s not all it’s hyped up to be, but it isn’t a waste of time either.

‘Stranger Things’ takes television by storm MIRA BHANDARI STAFF WRITER

Sci-Fi and ‘80s nostalgia meet just plain weird in the hit Netflix series “Stranger Things”. After its premiere in July, the show has proven itself to be a skyrocketing success with a 9.1/10 IMDb rating and 90 percent from Rotten Tomatoes.

The supernatural mystery follows the suspicious vanishing of Hawkins Middle School AV Club member and Dungeons and Dragons enthusiast Will Byers. The unlikely team of a cynical po-

lice chief, a paranoid mother, two angst-ridden teens and four walkietalkie wielding kids piece together the clues and discover that the truth behind Will’s disappearance is riddled with the stuff of nightmares. Secretive governments, borderline quantum physics and telekinetic little girls all arise questions that keep viewers reaching for their popcorn and clinging to the edge of their seats.

“Stranger Things,” taking place in 1983 Indiana, also incorporates retro twists into its plot lines. Scenes from the show make frequent

references to classic films such as “E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial” and “The Goonies.” The soundtrack includes ‘80s hits like The Clash’s “Should I Stay or Should I Go” and a synth-inspired main theme as well.

The first season consisted of eight thrilling episodes that left audiences begging for more. But have no fear Stranger Things fans, as Netflix has confirmed that the show will be returning for a second season on a date to be determined in 2017.

FOLLOW THE MHS MENTOR ON SNAPCHAT TODAY!