INSIDE THIS EDITION VOLLEYBALL -- Junior Jasmine Johnson bumps the volleyball during the Saturday JV tournament. JOURNALISM -- Seniors Javi Mercado and Duncan O’Brate work during the Wednesday afternoon Kansas State Fair journalism competition. See Pages 3 and 4 for more
THE MENTOR VOLUME 106 - ISSUE 03 - SEPT. 18, 2018
MHSMENTOR.COM
Student Council hosts Regional Conference Kaitlin Clark Print Editor-in-Chief
The Manhattan High Student Council hosted their first major event of the year with the Student Council Regional Conference yesterday. The StuCo Regional Conference included several high schools from across central Kansas who came to Manhattan High to learn more about leadership. The last time MHS hosted the conference was in 2015, so many new StuCo members from other schools saw the school for the first time. “I think a lot of the smaller schools loved seeing our school,” StuCo sponsor Leslie Campbell said. “They were overwhelmed by the size.” Guest StuCo members were separated from the people from their school upon arrival, helping them meet others and learn more about other schools. “It was fun in the beginning when we were splitting them all up, because you just got to meet a bunch of different people from different schools and kind of see people try and get out of their comfort zone as they just talk to random people,” Senior Class
vice president Blaise Hayden said. Students then listened to inspirational speaker Michael Cuesta. Cuesta is a youth speaker who gave the speech “You Are Greater Than,” which aimed to inspire students with his own personal story. StuCo’s presentation also included a performance from the Pops Choir. MHS StuCo members were in charge of running the event, which made the Regional Conference sort of a trial run to see how they would work together to pull it all off. “I think that this year is going to be a really good group of people,” Junior Class representative Elizabeth Chapman said. “I know student council and we’re going to get a lot of stuff done.” This is just the first of many events StuCo has planned for this year and while it is going to be a busy year for them, they look forward to the things that they will accomplish as a team. “I’m excited about my student council this year, they’re very enthusiastic,” Campbell said. “I hope that they learned a lot from running the conference and it should be a great year.”
Photo by Meredith Comas
Manhattan High Student Council members junior treasurer Tanya Singh and sophomore Vice President Dilanka Ranaweera join visiting council members and speaker Michael Cuestas in front of Rezac stage during a presentation at the KSHAA Student Council Regional Conference Monday. The regional conference invited other schools Student Council groups into the welcoming halls of MHS. The conference included a motivational speaker, leadership workshop and a special performance from the MHS Pops Choir group.
Debate starts strong with WaRu tournament Meredith Comas Online Editor-in-Chief
The Manhattan High debate team broke in the new competition season at two-day DCI tournament hosted by Washburn Rural Sept. 14-15, with teams competing in both Open Division and Varsity Division debates. This and the debates to come are all practice to argue the season’s national debate topic. According to the Kansas State High School Activities Association, this
year’s topic is “The United States federal government should substantially reduce its restrictions on legal immigration to the United States.” Competing against 60 different teams in the Open and 70 in the Varsity, MHS finished with two debate partnerships in good shape for the upcoming season and two who went undefeated in the Open affirmatives. The partnership that caught the judges’ attention was that of
juniors Megan Keenan and Allison Payne, who went undefeated in the Open preliminaries, won the quarter-final round 3-0 and took third place overall out of 60 teams. While Keenan and Payne were unavailable for comment at the time of publication, junior Will Bannister shared his thoughts on the tournament as a whole. “Our primary objectives of See DEBATE Page 4
ESI begins cleanup efforts in MHS courtyards gym for $4 a straw. “It’s to use less plastic straws,” Neff said. “So plastic straws Environmental Scidon’t get thrown away and ence Investigations club into the ocean harming mais doing what they can rine life.” do to help the environESI is having their garment and community. den clean-up in both court“[We] focus on makyards at Manhattan High. ing the school and comThe club will be going munity environmenaround and making sure tally healthy,” secretary that the courtyards are tidy Elora Neff, junior, said. and clean. Their monarch This year they alway station is happening ready have a couple at our school as well. This things planned such as Photo by Sophia Comas a garden clean-up, a Junior Meredith Comas and ESI club sponsor Clancey Liv- will be a place for monarch monarch way station ingston work together to clean one of MHS’s courtyards. The butterflies to come and rest and a metal straw fun- club cut down dead plants in the hopes of planting a garden. during yearly migration. “[We’re] converting draiser. All the proceeds from their fundraiser go to their Thursday from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 See ESI Page 4 club so that they can continue to p.m. in the Marlatt Elementary Kami Bussmann Staff Writer
help the environment. They are selling reusable metal straws this
Firearm found in auto tech class Michael Simmons Blue M Editor-in-Chief
Despite signage and regulations in place to stop firearms from arriving on campus, a handgun was found in the vehicle of an Auto Technology customer on Thursday. An Intro to Auto Technology student discovered the handgun in a vehicle belonging to a “patron of the community,” according to Manhattan High principal Greg Hoyt. In a release emailed to MHS students and parents, Hoyt released the following statement to MHS students and parents on
Thursday afternoon: Release issued 1:55 p.m. on Sept. 13: Parents, Guardians, and Students – School safety and security is the highest priority for you, us, and our community. In that respect, I must notify you of an incident that occurred on school grounds this morning, at approximately 9:45am. A personal vehicle belonging to a community member (not a student or staff member) was brought into our Auto Mechanics shop for some general maintenance. In the process of servicing
the vehicle, a student noticed a book and case on the floor board and posted a video on social media of both the book and the student opening the case. Inside of the case was a handgun and at least one magazine. It is unclear whether the weapon contained a round in the chamber or a loaded magazine. The vehicle was removed by the owner at approximately 10:15 a.m. At approximately 10:45 a.m., an assistant principal was notified by a concerned student of the See PRESS RELEASE Page 4
Students attend local 9/11 memorial Tara Wood Staff Writer
Manhattan High’s Big Blue Marching band was part of a local ceremony that helped Manhattan remember Sept. 11 this year. The whole community was invited to the memorial event, especially veterans, and there were several members of the student body who went as well. Early this school year the MHS marching band was asked if they would like to perform at the memorial, and they immediately agreed. The directors looked at it as an honor to perform for those who passed away that day and veterans. They performed “Fight Song” and “God Bless America.” “I think community involvement, especially the things as important as a 9/11 tribute,” Joel Gittle, band director, said. “So it’s just an event to help keep that memory alive, which I think is very important to keep those memories alive so we can try to prevent it from happening again.” Lori Bishop, executive direc-
tor of the Retired Senior Volunteers Program, set up the memorial that happened last Tuesday. There were speeches from the governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general and even a survivor from the incident at the Twin Towers. “It was just a really cool experience,” Grace Warner, junior, said. “It was really neat to go out there and hear a lot of people’s accounts on what happened and where they were and what was going through their minds.” Most of the student body wasn’t alive during the attacks that happened 17 years ago, and those that were alive were just babies at the time and have no memories, forcing them to rely on secondhand information as if it was from a history book. They know the story, even if they weren’t there. “When Sept. 11 happened I was 9 months old. I can’t say I remember it but my dad was a See MEMORIAL Page 4
Students take interactive trip to K-State Greenhouse Brianna Carmack Staff Writer
Greenhouse students went to the Kansas State University greenhouse in order to learn about the subject of botany and experiment with different types of plants last week on Thursday. The main purpose of the trip was for greenhouse students to see a functional greenhouse and see how K-State uses it to educate and conduct research. This trip is is a great benefit for anyone looking into plant sciences. “The trip was a chance for our greenhouse students to see an operational greenhouse, and to see lots of different ways to grow plants,” Elissa Mullinix, sponsor of the trip and agricultural science teacher of MHS, said, “students also had a chance to meet faculty members at K-State who work in greenhouse management,
and to see some of the things we learn in class in practice.” There were many different activities the students got to do such as releasing parasitic wasp eggs into poinsettia plants and seeing the different stages in plant growth. The trip was lead by Dr. Kimberly Williams, horticulturalist and professor at K-State. “[Williams] took us to go and see different stages in production and growth so we saw their propagation room,” Mullinix said, “we just got to see a lot of different things that they do in the greenhouse,” “I appreciated that Dr. Kimberly Williams made the trip interactive which meant that students had a chance to plant,” Mullinix said. Students also got to work with See GREENHOUSE Page 4
OPINIONS
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The Mentor Sept. 18, 2018 MHSMentor.com
Kobach’s plan to decrease school administration not a solution to education budget crisis This editorial is a compilation from a discussion held by the editorial board. To listen to the conversation that led to this piece, visit MHSMentor.com
As we near November’s general elections the race for Kansas’ next governor has reached the most vulnerable and intense point in any campaign: pleasing the public eye. This means debates, county visits and as much good publicity as possible for the candidates: democratic nominee Sen. Laura Kelly, republican nominee Kris Kobach and independent Greg Orman. The most public and, at times unrestrained, debate in Kansas politics is the Kansas State Fair debate. At this year’s, taking place on Sept. 8, one of the biggest issues was education, which has been a disaster since Brownback’s 2012 cuts. On this matter, Kobach falsely claimed as an example that a Wichita school had 12 administrators. During the
debate, Kobach said “Why does a school district, or a high school, need 12 assistant principals? We have got to stop spending so much money on administration and spend it instead in the classroom...” His statement about the number of administrators is false, according to the Wichita school district. Kobach combined Wichita North and East high schools, rather than taking into account that the schools are separate. The Mentor editorial board agreed that, first, the Kobach campaign needs to find reliable facts before making official statements. Not just that, but they, as well as the state, need to stop holding all schools to the same standards and account for varying budgetary and administrative needs. It is important to note, Kobach’s statement is not a new sentiment for him. His name is known for this exact antischool administration attitude as well as for his strong sup-
port of anti-immigration, tax reform and Trump politics. According to his website, 53 cents of every tax dollar that is sent to schools actually goes into classrooms, the rest being
Graphic by Rebecca Efkin
“swallowed up” by administration and “other programs.” Kobach, a Harvard, Yale and Oxford graduate who has never taught in public education, even provides a data bank link to a government report on school spending in Kansas from 2005 to 2017. Interestingly enough, the graph provided shows the
biggest spender of tax dollars -- taking up 52.92 percent of education spending -- is not administration, it’s “instruction.” However, it gives no definition of what that actually is. In fact, in the last 12 years, the average difference between student and staff spending and administrative spending is only $147. However, between student and staff spending and “instruction,” the average difference is $5588. Then, add in the unknown spending, simply referred to as “other current spending,” which averaged $928. Add the two unknown spending areas’ -- instruction and other spending -- averages together, and the difference between them and average teacher/student spending is $5535. So why is Kobach claiming administration is the problem when the biggest offender of tax dollar waste is in mystery spendings? How can we blame administration for “swallowing” money when the reality
is, we, let alone Kobach, don’t even know where over half of education spending is going? In the end, we all must realize that without administration, our schools wouldn’t run. Look at Manhattan High -- a 6A high school with two campuses and individual grade levels made up of over 400 students each. Without an administrator for each grade level, it would be chaos. But for a 4A high school, this system might work. Every school, in and outside of Kansas, requires a different set of needs, and thus a different number of staff and administration to meet these needs. Budget and administration should be decided based on need, rather than being decided by putting every high school on the same level and holding them to the same standard. Politicians and potential future leaders of our state should seek truth and honesty in their facts, not bias based in personal agenda.
Acknowledge history to prevent mistakes Are high school students’ future
Sophia Comas Sports Editor
We are in a loop. We are in a constant, never ending loop. Since the beginning of time, this loop has existed, and since the beginning of time, we have been in it. The loop I am describing, of course, is history. Over the thousands of years humanity has walked this earth, it has continued to live in this fantasy of progress. While it’s not ill-mannered or malicious, it is indeed a fantasy. We have grown to accept that history repeats itself, but instead just accepting it, we have now used it as an excuse for doing the same thing that has happened forever ago. While we have made attempts to change this pattern, they have never been significant enough to create real change. Of course, there are positive things that happen, but not on a large enough
scale to prove that the world is different from what it was in the past. The other day I was scrolling through the Discover page on Instagram, and I came across a political cartoon drawn in the 1960s. In the cartoon, you can see a group of politicians sitting around a table labeled “War” surrounded by others labeled “Medicine,” “School” and “The People.” While the remaining groups are ignored, “War” is spoon-fed plates of money by the wealthy. While looking at it, I couldn’t help but think that the fact it can be applied to today rather than just the ‘60s was sad. Just knowing that the people who have real power to make change don’t even care and haven’t cared for a long time made me realize that we as a society have done nothing to fix the looming problem ahead of us, one that is coming faster than anyone expected. Former president Barack Obama recently said, “It is one of the few regrets of my presidency, that the rancor and suspicion between the parties has gotten worse instead of better.” While this statement is in response to how the current
political climate is creating a rift between the people, it can also be applied to other points in our history. Just as Obama’s words are used to describe today, they can also describe most of the Civil War. Started in 1861, the Civil War is still considered to be the bloodiest conflict ever fought on American soil. According to history. com, 620,000 of the 2.4 million soldiers who fought in the war died. Because of those deaths, America is now the country that it is -- but that does not mean it is better. 1861 was over a century and a half ago, and yet we still see ourselves experiencing the racism the Civil War began over and tried to stop. We see ourselves bickering over things that matter, but are then turned into insignificant ramblings because of the bickering. Humanity has not grown over time, but rather stayed dormant. We have remained the same in the ways that matter, mainly because of the lack of effort when it comes to knowing our own history. If we want to thrive in the future, then we need to acknowledge our history. We have to break loop. We can and we must.
Double standard or public meltdown?
Javi Mercado Staff Photographer
A broken racket and an early-called match remained after Serena Williams threw a tantrum and made foolish allegations against chair umpire Carlos Ramos at the U.S. Open on Sunday June 17. Williams called Ramos “sexist” and a “thief,” blaming him for her championship loss. The incident started with Williams’s coach Patrick Mouratoglo to secretly coach from the stands during the match, which is illegal in tennis. Later her coach admitted that he was giving signs from his seat. After Williams received the foul, tension began to rise, making the environment hostile for the crowd, which became very energetic and involved during Williams outburst. Williams’ Kaitlin Clark -- Print Editor-in-Chief Meredith Comas -- Online Editorin-Chief Micheal Simmons -- Blue M Editorin-Chief Sophia Comas - Sports Editor Hannah Heger -- Features Editor Anika Nyp and Kyla Barrnett -Trending page Designers
fans even went so far as to boo at the trophy ceremony while William’s opponent, 20 year old Naomi Osaka, was crying while receiving her first place trophy for winning the U.S. Open. This caused confusion about the crowd booing; however, they weren’t booing for the unexpected outcome, but rather for how the umpire resolved the situation. Williams later broke her racket, which is without context a violation. Afterwards she said “You stole a point from me, you’re a thief too.” Speaking like this to a ref regardless of what sport shouldn’t be allowed regardless of who the player is. What Williams doesn’t realize is that men receive almost three times as many code violations as women in the past 20 years of grand-slam events, according to reporter Simon Briggs from Telegraph.com. So Williams is right for a claim of double standard, but it’s toward the men players of to our surprise. At her best she is a huge role model to all tennis players, especially to black females. She is the greatest
female tennis player ever and you can’t take that away from her. But she took away that young girl’s moment by throwing tantrums and making the whole match about herself instead of the actual champion. I understand she wanted to win but to make the whole situation about gender is where she lost her argument and making her points invalid. She was fined $17,000 for the outbursts but she will never be able to pay the debt that she owes Osaka for taking her moment of winning. No one will talk about how well Osaka played during the time of the U.S. Open and she will never get the respect and recognition she deserves because Williams wanted to make a stand for her false allegations and inevitable loss she would later blame on Ramos. Williams during the match was very unprofessional and her fine is more than deservable. Her tantrums and allegations can’t go without punishment and I stand with Ramos and approve with how he handled the situation.
Hailey Eilert -- Photo Editor Assistant Photo Editors -- Mason Alberto, Makenna Wollenberg Staff Writers and Photographers -Ayden Boyles, Kami Bussmann, Bri Carmack, Josh Flickinger, Olivia Haas, Cade McNeil, Javi Mercado, Aloera Ostermann, Madison Ritz, Jennifer Sadler, Riley Williamson, Tara Wood
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judgments on the news in jeopardy?
Julianna Poe Staff Writer
High school students’ views on the ever-differentiating news have changed significantly since the most recent presidential election of 2016. Most high school students have found the news less reliable than two years ago. It all started when the uproar of dynamic opinions surrounding political beliefs increased in late July of 2016 when the Democratic and Republican nominees were announced. “There seems to be a lot of fake news these days, so you never know what’s true and not true until you get a reliable source,” Heidi Hansen, freshman, said. Through a poll on Google Forms taken by Manhattan High students, they were asked a number of questions including how reliable the news is to them on a scale of one to five, one being not at all and five being completely. Results showed that 40.5 percent of high school students who took the poll find the reliability of the news at a three and 35.21 percent find it at a four. Only 8.1 percent rate the news as truthful. Those same high school students have also found the news more heavily affected by politics since the presidential
election, which has caused an identifiable change in the way they perceive the news today. “[Reporters today] are very dramatic,” Grace Hutchinson, freshman, said. “Most of the time I struggle to believe the people on TV.” Despite the way the news is structured today, I’m proud to say that instead of avoiding news outlets, especially those geared more toward political topics, a number of high school students make a point to find out for themselves what is true and what is false. “[Since the most recent presidential election] I make sure I’m more aware about things that are happening, and if I feel like I want an opinion on something, I will research it more,” Rachel Edie, freshman, said. One way to know whether a news report is truthful is to look at their past articles and televised segments. “Their past articles and televised segments can tell a lot,” Kilian Foust, junior, said. “I prefer to fact check before giving my trust to one publication or another.” Regardless of the fact that since 2016 high school students’ views on the news have changed and that the news presently is controversial, I believe that all high school students should educate themselves on what’s truly going on in the world. Seeing as 59.5 percent of high school students today consume the news daily, having false conclusions made from corrupt news reports could gravely affect our future judgments.
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Question of the Week What are you most excited for about fall? Next week’s question: What is your favorite thing to put pumpkin spice on? Ethan Morrow, Elisa Ohler, Julianna Poe, Cole Schmitt, Katya, Tarabrina, Nicholas Walters Kristy Nyp -- Advisor 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
“Cooler weather and candles.” -- Freshman Gillian Carter @gillianruthcarter “Sweater weather!!” --Junior Morgan Day @morgan.katheryn “Life. Sports. Hoco. Possibly a date but I’m lonely and... Yea….” -- Freshman Baylee Boyles @bboyles005 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 and National Scholastic Press Association. The Mentor is a public forum. E-mail us at mhsmentor@gmail.com.
SPORTS
The Mentor Sept. 18, 2018 MHSMentor.com
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MHS Junior Varsity volleyball takes first place in tournament Julianna Poe Staff Writer
This Saturday the Manhattan High Junior Varsity volleyball team victoriously played five opposing teams -- Free State, St. Thomas Aquinas, Hayden, Washburn Rural and Shawnee Heights -- at the J.V. Invitational at MHS. Previous practices leading up to their tournament had gone well as the team made progress in improving their abilities and weaknesses, so there were high expectations leading into the morning. “I have very high expectations for the girls,” Mandy Michaelis, J.V. volleyball coach, said. “They’ve been working really hard, so I’m excited to see how the outcome is going to be today.” The day started off slow for MHS, however, but they pushed through their struggle with shining colors.
“Our team has this tendency to start off slow but gradually get more high energy as we play,” Kennady Martinie, sophomore, said. “I’d say our first game was a lot more slower going through the motions kind of game, as to our last game -- we got used to the game and played really high energy and great volleyball.” Winning their first game up against Free State, MHS continued on triumphantly, winning time and time again. By the final game, they had won three out of four games, unfortunately losing to Washburn Rural. “The Washburn game we could’ve played much better,” Ryane Stipe, sophomore, said. “It’s just a matter of pushing through the middle of the tournament, mentally and physically.” The team is primarily trying to focus on being better team members, emphasizing teamwork and
consistency. “I think we all could work on our consistency in games and our communication at times, including myself,” Martinie said. Despite this small rift, MHS won their last game facing Shawnee Heights in only two short sets. Regardless of the obstacles they faced, the J.V. volleyball team proudly placed first overall due to sets won during matches and points accumulated. Not only did they end champs, they also met their own personal goals for themselves and their team. Winning the tournament was, in fact, among their many goals. “Our team is full of great girls, we’re a family, we stick together through the good, bad, and the ugly,” Stipe said. “Because that’s what we Indians do.”
terest in the sport, the team still overcomes the challenges. “I feel like having a home game gives any athlete some more motivation to do well,” Park said, “and also it makes them feel more appreciated. Even though not many students came, having other people we knew still made us feel a little more important.” Having home meets is a rare occasion for the team but next year the team might have few more chances to play at home. “I am really grateful for all the support that we’ve got, you know, all of our teachers and our friends coming to watch us,” Lei said. But the chance of more home meets is coming soon with the new courts at City Park. “That’s an occasion that, you know, doesn’t happen very often. The team usually does not play many meets at home,” head coach Tony Ingram said. “Now with the six courts that have now been completed at least resurfaced, we could hold a quad of four teams. If we were fortunate enough to play on KSU courts, then we could host a bigger tournament maybe once a year.” But next year is far away and the team has to stay focused on this season, with multiple meets before the Centennial League at 8:30 a.m. on Oct. 1 at Seaman.
Sophia Comas Sports Editor
Photo by Julianna Poe Sophomore Gillian Awbrey serves the ball during a game at the Junior Varsity Invitational. It was hosted at Manhattan High, where the team competed against Hayden, Free Sate, Aquinas, Washburn Rural and Shawnee Heights.
Tennis defends home Cross Country breaks school record Hannah Heger Staff Writer
Girls Varsity tennis competed for the home crowd in their only meet at home on Sept. 11. Playing in Mike Goss tennis facility at Kansas State University, the team placed first, sophomore Kayla Lei placed second in one singles, junior Kate McGee placed second in two singles, juniors Kira Schartz and Joanna Park placed first in one doubles, and freshman Hannah Loub and senior Jill Broxterman placed second. The team was excited to play for their peers and family members along with the chance to show tennis to the community and get involved, “Both sets of grandparents are here,” Schartz said. “My grandparents came from Dodge City and they don’t really get to see me play that often.” According to Lei, not many people are interested in tennis but knowing people came to watch and support the experience better, “I also think it depends on the mindset. If you’re going to come in thinking that tennis sucks then you’re probably going to come out still thinking that tennis sucks,” Park said. ”I get why no one watches it, it is definitely a slow sport to watch.” Along with having few meets at home and fewer fans with in-
Girls Golf places well Overall team score of second place Fifth Place Andi Siebert, 45 and 43 Seventh Place Elise Jackson, 46 and 44 11th Place A.J. Ryan, 47 and 46
The Manhattan High girls Varsity golf team placed with an overall team score of second and had three golfers medal in the top 15. They took a 27-point lead against Hayes with a score of 366 and fell behind Maize by a total of 5 points.
Manhattan High Cross Country continues to strive for greatness after the Missouri Southern Stampede meet last Saturday where they placed ninth in girls Varsity and 11th in boys Varsity. The race held excitement for everyone as senior Clara Mayfield broke the school record with a time of 18:25, exceeding the previous time set by Alaina Schroeder in 2013 by just one second. “Clara has worked extremely hard for four years to get to where she is and it’s awesome to see her miles paying off,” Susan Melgares, head coach, said. “It’s very exciting to see her get this record and very exciting to see her run so well at one of the largest meets in this region.” The meet featured runners from around 50 different schools across five states and had about 400 girls in the Varsity division in which Mayfield placed second. She was followed by Ella Rosen-
kranz, junior, and Maddie Purdom, senior. “The meet was very exciting. It was such a neat experience to run against so many great teams,” Purdom said. “I was so proud of everyone’s efforts [Saturday].” Both Purdom and Mayfield were absent at the last cross country meet, so having them return with such success was icing on the cake for the season’s progress. While they worked to ensure a good turnout for the meet, they also had to work against certain weather conditions that proved somewhat difficult. “All of our kids ran tough in some of the most warm and humid conditions we have faced this season,” Melgares said. “They showed a lot of strength by winning several finish line stretch battles and several ran personal best times.” While this is the cross country team’s third meet of the season, some runners have had more success at meeting their personal
goals than others. Despite this, many still put forth every effort to make sure they have a season well-run. “I was really striving for a personal best myself, and sadly it didn’t happen, and while I wish I could’ve gone even faster during the race, I know I gave it my best effort,” Purdom said. “I also understand that as we continue to work harder we’ll be able to get faster and stronger as a team and as individuals. So, I will keep pushing myself to run faster and get a new personal best.” As the team works on achieving those goals, they are also practicing hard for their next Junior Varsity meet in Tonganoxie today at 4 p.m. They hope to bring home another victory along with gaining more progress as they run. “I’m so proud of our team so far and can’t wait to see what we do next,” Purdom said.
ATHLETE OF THE
WEEK Clara Mayfield Cross Country Photo by Olivia Haas
Sophia Comas Sports Editor
• Placed first in the Manhattan Invite with a lead of a minute and a half • Placed second in the Missouri Southern Stampede with a time of 18:25 • Beat the school record at Missouri Southern Stampede by one second
What first inspired you to be a runner? I was first inspired to run because I played soccer and wanted to get better at that by running. How do you think the season will be affected by you breaking the school record? The season won’t be affected by me breaking the record because there are still a lot of goals I have left to work towards and still
hope to run faster in the future. Are there any other personal goals you are hoping to accomplish? I am working towards winning the state title individually and as a team. Doing good enough to be on the podium at state is a big goal.
To see more coverage of Manhattan High MHS Football gets third straight win athletics or of their Junior Varsity/ Freshmen events, go to mhsmentor.com under the “Sports” tab. Cole Schmitt Staff Writer
Manhattan stays undefeated after a dominating win Friday night at Seaman 49-7. “I was very pleased with the total team effort,” head coach Joe Schartz said “I am very pleased with the defense holding Seaman to -11 yards rushing and less than 100 yards total offense.” Manhattan (3-0) held Seaman (2-1) to seven points Friday while forcing two turnovers and not allowing the Vikings a single point after the first quarter. The Indians offense showed up once again putting up 49 points ,which puts their season average so far this year at 37.3 points per game. Senior Kevontae McDonald had 196 yards and three touch-
downs on 18 carries. Senior Jaylynn Liggons had a kick return for a touchdown and junior Isiah Childs had a rushing touchdown as well. “The guys in the trenches, [they] help us skill guys make big plays,” Childs said. “We’ve been hanging [our] hats on outworking teams in the run game and so far it’s been working.” With all this running you need good blocking and Manhattan has done that really well so far this year. “The offensive line continues to improve each week.” Schartz said. Kicker Gabe Pereyda was perfect being 7 for 7 on extra points. Manhattan (3-0) will travel to Topeka Friday to take on the only other undefeated team in
the Centennial League, Washburn Rural (3-0). Washburn has been solid this year already tallying two road wins and averaging 31.7 points through all three games. Washburn will also have an advantage being on home turf This game could go a long way in deciding who will take home the regular season title this year. “Every game is a huge game for us,” said Childs. “Washburn isn’t a pushover, all the [games] they’ve competed in this year they’ve came back and won. They have good [players] on both sides of the ball so this should be a good game for both teams. I know that if we stick together like we have and not be complacent and work hard every day at practice and do the things MHS is about [then] we will be fine.”
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FEATURES
The Mentor Sept. 18, 2018 MHSMentor.com
Journalists travel to State Fair for contest Aloera Ostermann Staff writer
Once a year the journalists of Manhattan Highschool are challenged to put together a paper and a newscast in just under nine hours. The students go to the Kansas State Fair in Hutchinson Kansas. Journalism teacher Kristy Nyp takes a group of students to participate in the Kansas Students Press Corpse Competition. This year eight students attended the fair. They make up two teams, a print team and a video team. This year the video team consisted of sophomore Jarod Wege and senior Duncan O’Brate as well as junior Gabe Jernigan. The print team consisted of seniors Kaitlin Clark, Ayden Boyles, Javi Mercado, Makenna Wollenberg and Tara Wood. The students met at the school at 6:30 a.m. for their departure to Hutchinson. When they got there they were given their tasks. The print team had just under nine hours to put together a four-page paper and the video team was to create an exactly-four-minutelong video news package. The video students were assigned one news story topic and had to choose the other on their own. They had to first come up with questions then video them-
“We were selves interviewtold to draw a ing different lead story out people. The of a hat,” Clark students had to said, “then we come up with had one assigned clever things to agricultural base say to transition story, and then from one video two free-choice into the next. stories.” Each student Each member asked someone of the team took a question giva story. With two ing them all a of the stories bechance in the ing up to the stuspotlight. Once dents, they chose the taping was to write about done, they went pig races and to the computer and started fitPhoto courtesy of Kristy Nyp the “bring a Vetting the clips Seniors Javi Mercado, Kaitlin Clark and Ayden Boyles work together to edit a story. The eran to brunch” together. Ac- seniors of Manhattan High’s newspaper, yearbook and video productions team took a event. With the trip to the Kansas State Fair to compete against other schools. The stressful competition cording to Jerni- involved laying out a newspaper spread in a limited amount of time, including photos, stories all assigned the team gan that was the captions and stories. set out to get most difficult while they were at the fair and interviews. They part. “We had audio issues and we were able to take away many key walked around the fairgrounds making sure to get things done also had a time issue,” Jernigan points. “Now that I have actual expe- quickly since they were pressed said. “When we got all of our clips together it went over the rience at a big statewide event I on time. think it’ll be a lot easier because As soon as Clark got her interfour-minute time.” The video team had to some- I’ll know what I’m doing for views she headed back to the prohow get all of the clips to fit to- smaller scale events,” Jernigan duction building and got to work on her story and the page layout. gether and it had to be exactly said. On the print side of things Her team members brought in four minutes, not a second shorter or longer. They finally managed the students were given a similar information and pictures as they to push through the adversity and task but had to present it in a very acquired them and some even submit their exactly four minute different way. Upon their arrival brought her food because she was the print team was assigned some too busy working on layout to get video before the deadline. it herself. The students learned a lot content to put into their paper.
YoungLife students come together Kami Bussmann Staff writer
Most students have something to look forward to every week. For some that may be Friday night lights, or even block schedule days. In this case, these students look forward to Monday nights where they attend club night for a group called YoungLife. According to their website this organization is a non-denominational and non-profit and thinks the world of the kids in Manhattan. This group, separated by gender and grade, does things from Go-Karting to camping to Wednesday night Campaigners. Last Monday, YoungLife had their back to school club night at the Kansas State Recreation Center “We played sand volleyball,” sophomore Andi Siebert said. “They had a raffle so you could
earn a chance to get some YoungLife merch.” There was an abundance of students that showed up on Monday. There were about 50-60 students ranging from high school freshman to seniors. YoungLife is lead by a hand full of college students in Manhattan. “All of the leaders make it so much fun and you want to be there,” sophomore Faith Beyer said. “...You really know your leaders care about you and want you to be there.” YoungLife is a time for high school kids to come together, enjoy themselves, have fun and get mentored by some pretty cool people. “...They know what we like compared to older people,” Siebert said. “They’re more with the time.”
BSU to start new step team Riley Williamson Staff writer
“The purpose for the Union is to provide avenues for black students to become more organized and aware of the opportunities available to them,” excerpt from the 1971 Manhattan High School Blue M yearbook. The Black Student Union became a club at MHS in the 197071 school year. During their first year as a club, they hosted a talent show and sponsored black awareness week. Like they do today, BSU strived to serve MHS that first year and that goal has never changed. Some changes that have been made for the 2018-19 BSU group is the addition of a step dance group. Stepping is a kind of dance that uses your entire body to make rhythms by dancing. It’s a
ARTIST OF THE
WEEK Makenna Wollenberg Assisstant Photo Editor
When did you get into art? It started out in elementary school. I had some great art teachers and it went from there. What art style is your favorite? Drawing and Painting. I would choose painting over anything though.
Photo by Makenna Wollenberg
Is there a artist that inspires you? M.C. Escher. I have always liked his work. Do you see art as a career option? I want to work in design, so yes a career but not entirely
From MEMORIAL Page 1
police officer on the military at that time and it was a very scary time,” McKenzie Feather, senior, said. “I think it is very important From DEBATE Page 1
the WaRu tournament were to get an idea of the topic landscape this year...because the nature of legal immigration means that there could be lots of interpretations of what is topical,” Bannis-
“I edited all stories, double checked photos, captions, and then since we only had one computer to work off of, for layout, I laid out all four pages,” Clark said. These duties all fell on her due to her position on the newspaper staff back at Manhattan High school. Clark has the official title of Print editor-in-chief. This means the things she did at the competition she does on a weekly basis for the high school, the only difference being she usually only has to layout one page as opposed to four. The students all were put under pressure during the event, helping teach them how to better deal with time management. What usually takes an entire night to put together and the better part of the week to prepare the team was able to do in just nine hours. They had to crank out their stories under tight deadlines and very different circumstances than they are used to. They learned how to better work together and many different strategies to help improve the school newspaper overall. “I think that it was a great experience, even though it is a lot of pressure I enjoyed it and I felt very accomplished,” Clark said. “I’m very proud of the Manhattan high journalists and staff.”
Cade Hupp Senior Drawing and Painting • Currently Hupp is painting his own version of photographs that artistically inspire him
to let those who protect us every day and let us live freely here know we support them that is why I think memorials like this are important.”
ter said. “However, more importantly, we needed to just dive in and get debate running through our veins after the long off season. I think we accomplished both of those goals.” Debate will compete again in Emporia on Sept. 22.
dance that brings people together. “[In] BSU we’re all about unity and lifting every voice,” said senior Amani Rockett, a BSU member who is helping start the step group. “Stepping lets us express our unity in our group. It let’s us... promote BSU in school and... gets us back to our cultural roots.” The members of BSU are excited to start a stepping group. Some have never had the opportunity to step, but know the cultural significance of stepping and want to try it. “For us, stepping is kind of something that you always… grew up wanting to do,” sophomore Chalice Carter said. Carter is also helping to start the step group. “Like you look on TV and you watch all these ‘90s and early 2000s movies… like ‘Stomp
the Yard’... and you’re like ‘wow, that’s so cool.’” “Stomp the Yard” is a movie that portrays stepping in fraternities. Stepping has had a long tradition with African American fraternities and sororities. Kansas State University BSU is one out reach in the community that Rocket and Carter hope will help with the starting of their step group. BSU hopes to promote stepping when they perform in the second semester during a basketball game. “I feel like a lot of people don’t know what BSU is about and what we do and how we express ourselves,” said Carter. “Stepping is going to help us spread our message to people at the school.”
From GREENHOUSE Page 1
greenhouse later this year, and possibly work in another field trip as well.” Overall, the trip seemed to be a great experience for greenhouse students. This was a great way for students who are interested in plant sciences and from the looks of it, it seems like a trip to the greenhouse will happen more often. Being able to work on different types of experiments and do things people normally don’t do on a daily basis was fun for the students. “I’m thankful to have K-State in our backyard so that we can see and do so many industry relevant things with minimal travel time,” Mullinix said.
pest management, watch plants grow in different types of media, look at current experiments K-State is working on and meet faculty members such as Nicole Martini, Ph-D student in horticulture. Special Education and Greenhouse teacher Cale Prater also took a visit the greenhouse Thursday morning. “I enjoyed learning about the hydroponics systems, which grow plants in water without no soil at all,” Prater said, “we have a goal to take at least two field trips this year in Greenhouse class, so this was a nice, local destination we could go to early in the year. We hope to visit another commercial
From PRESS RELEASE Page1
video they had seen on social media. Assistant principals immediately gathered information from the reporting student, notified the Riley County Police Department, and began investigating. At this time, all staff and students at school are safe and not in immediate danger. However, in this day and age this incident From ESI Page 1
common areas like the courtyards by replacing grass with mulch and flowers to attract pollinators,” Clancey Livingston, ESI sponsor, said. The club will also be doing a variety of unique activities to
is cause for great concern. We are thankful for the student that immediately brought this to our attention, and we have received multiple phone calls while investigating. School safety is the responsibility of us all, and we thank you for your concern and cooperation. RCPD is continuing their investigation. Greg Hoyt, MHS Principal promote their group and bring awareness to the student body of the impact they have on the environment. “[We hope to] have people bring in empty plastic bottles because we are going to make a fake palm tree,” Neff said.
ENTERTAINMENT
The Mentor Sept. 18, 2018 MHSMentor.com
Varsity, Pops choirs perform at State Fair Sophia Comas Sports Editor
Both Manhattan High’s Varsity Choir and Pops Choir traveled to Hutchinson to perform in the Kansas State Fair on Saturday, leaving at 7 a.m. in order to perform in the Bretz and Young Arena at 10:30 a.m. The performance created a new singing environment for the groups, who had to make some adjustments to their pitch to accommodate to the outside stage. “Performing on an outside stage was a new experience for most of us and we had to adapt and learn how to hear each other and perform as a group,” Krystal Kilner, junior, said. “It was a great growing experience for all of us.” Kilner performed with her fellow Varsity members while also singing her very first solo. While she and the rest of Varsity Choir used the stage to their advantage, Pops Choir was not so lucky. Because the stage was slick, they had to be extra careful with their dance moves. Senior Jana Kellogg unfortunately fell on stage, though she says it didn’t stop her from having fun.
“I got back up and I kept dancing,” Kellogg said. “All that really matters is that we went there and we performed and we had fun and we got to do some bonding together as a small group.” Despite the minor setback, both groups were able to pull through with their performances while leaving room for some improvements. According to Kilner, listening to other groups such as the community college choir helped them realize what they need to work on. “Since the stage was outside, we were having trouble hearing each other and stumbled at times but we eventually figured it out,” Kilner said. “Hearing the community college gave us a lot of room for improvement and it just takes practice.” Although Varsity and Pops are happy with the way their performances turned out, it is still bittersweet to know that this is the final State Fair performance for these seniors. “It’s really hard. I really want to hold on to all of these special things that I get to do that I’m not going to be able to replicate when I’m in college,” Kellogg said. “I’m
New Netflix movie strikes hearts of viewers
Kami Bussmann Staff Writer
For the past couple weeks there has been major hype about one single Netflix original movie, “To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before.” There is no reason not to be talking about this movie’s characters, plot, scenes and the background to the movie. The movie is based on the book series written by Jenny Han. The characters made by Han are written so well and the actors playing them give off an amazing performance making you fall in love with them within the first couple minutes they are seen. There are a handful of famous people in this popular movie, Noah Centineo (Peter Kavinsky), Janel Parrish ( Margot Covey) and King Bach (Gabe Rivera) for example. There’s also stars on the rise like Lana Condor who plays Lara Jean Covey. After getting to watch,and later fall in love with, Peter Kavinsky and Lara Jean Covey’s relationship form on screen I just had
to look them up on the internet after. The two have such a close relationship off screen that it’s no surprise that their characters are played the way they are. They are both super relatable and it’s no wonder they are blowing up on social media. Even though the things Kavinsky does for Covey may not be how boyfriends are portrayed in the real world it still gives viewers hope. If you haven’t seen the movie you still most likely know about the pocket holding, which leads to the pocket twirl in the cafeteria between the two. This moment is first based off the movie “Sixteen wishes” with a little twirl to the scene. It was one of my favorite scenes because it’s a turning point for their relationship. There was fighting, screaming, loving, and laughs held by the actors and myself in each moment throughout the movie. One thing I did not look past was the music selection. The movie’s soundtrack is to die for. It has a very mellow feel to it with a hint of upbeatness, which in a way portrays the relationship of Kavinsky and Covey. From beginning to end this movie had me on the edge of my seat crossing my fingers for shy Lara Jean in hopes everything would turn out alright for her. I have watched it over 10 times and recommend you do too.
Blue M Yearbook PDA Ads Recognize your senior, team or friendship with a “public display of affection” ad in the 2019 Blue M! full page: 7.6” X 10.3” $275
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Photo by Jennifer Sadler Seniors Elise Jackson, McKenna Claussen and Kaitlin Clark,perform the opening number to the Pops Choir at the Kansas State Fair. Each year, Pops Choir works hard in and out of school to perfect their performance for the annual State Fair.
just trying to enjoy as much as possible and just live in the moment and enjoy this year as much as I can before I leave. I have to let go of all the special things I got to
do in high school.” As the choirs settle back into their regular routine, they still carry with them the experience they gained from being at the state
fair and hope to utilize what they learned in future performances. “Overall, it was a great experience,” Kilner said. “I can’t wait to see where this year will take us.”
Fall Musical begins rehearsals Kaitlin Clark Print Editor-in-Chief
The Manhattan High fall musical cast and crew have launched themselves straight into rehearsals as they begin learning the show tunes that are so central to “Newsies.” For the last week, the cast has worked solely on music. Choir teacher Chad Pape has taken on the additional role of music director for the fall musical. Pape’s experience as the MHS choir teacher has added a technical depth to rehearsals, one that cast members have certainly noticed. “Since we have a choir teacher, it is professional,” junior Rose Carter, who will play principle newsie Finch, said. “We go through how you sing, and how we count beats in between singing. It’s all about how we sing…” Over the last week, Pape has had a chance to observe where the cast is musically and feels op-
timistic. “...the cast learned the music a lot faster than I expected them to, and they’re great, nice people, so it’s done really well,” Pape said. Cast members remain similarly upbeat as they begin rehearsals. “I feel like last year, the morale for the show was a lot lower,” senior Jayden Gittle said, “and this year, I think everybody’s really excited and the songs are really great.” In addition to playing principle newsie Specks in the musical, Gittle will also be working on fundraising efforts as the Thespian reporter and publicist. Thespians are currently planning to sew doll clothes that replicate the costumes of the cast so that younger audience members can take home a piece of the show. “...I think a lot of kids will come to see [the show], and hopefully they all have American Girl dolls, and they can buy some clothes,” Gittle said. They also plan to sell
“Newsies”-themed buttons at a time closer to the show. Rehearsals may have just begun, but the cast is already looking forward to a successful production. “I’m just really looking forward to the performances,” Carter said. “I’m excited for the feeling of being on stage in front of the classes.” While rehearsals are exciting for cast members and directors alike, they are simultaneously working toward creating a production that the public will enjoy watching. They hope that people will enjoy the show during its November show dates as much as they do during this first week of rehearsal. “Part of the great thing about doing musical theater is it’s such a popular art form,” Pape said. “It’s great to just have an audience sit and feel purely entertained for a couple hours.”
Fall movie, TV releases in epic proportions Micheal Simmons Blue M Editor-In-Chief
September is always a time for television series to premiere or launch new seasons. This September there are also several
movies coming out that readers of The Mentor will want to put on their watchlist.
THE HOUSE WITH A CLOCK IN ITS WALL
NIGHT SCHOOL
THE NUN
According to ‘rottentomatoes’, star Kevin Hart and producer Will Packer, who partnered for the several hits including “The Ride Along” come back together to bring their unique style to “Night School”. The plot follows a group of misfits who are forced to attend adult classes in the longshot chance they’ll pass the GED exam. Release Date: Sept. 28
According to ‘International Movie Data Base’, A priest with a haunted past and a novice on the threshold of her final vows are sent by the Vatican to investigate the death of a young nun in Romania and confront a malevolent force. Release Date Sept. 7
According to the International Movie Database, a young orphan named Lewis Barnavelt aids his magical uncle in locating a clock with the power to bring about the end of the world. Release Date: Sept. 21
TV PREMIERES, ACCORDING TO ‘ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY’ quarter page: 3.75” X 5.16” $85
eighth page: 3.75” X 2.5” $50
eighth page: 3.75” X 2.5” $50
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Sept. 1:Narcos (Netflix) Sept. 5: American Horror Story: Cult (FX) Sept. 8: BoJack Horseman (Netflix), Fire Chasers (Netflix) Sept. 10: The Orville (Part 1) (Fox), Outlander (Starz), Fear the Walking Dead (AMC) Sept. 12: The Mindy Project (Hulu) Sept. 13: South Park (Comedy Central) Sept. 17: Primetime Emmy Awards (CBS), The Orville (Part 2) (Fox), The Vietnam War (PBS) Sept. 18: Dancing with the Stars (ABC), The State (NatGeo Sept. 20: The Good Place (one-hour premiere) (NBC), Are You The One? (MTV) Sept. 22: Fuller House (Netflix) Sept. 24: 60 Minutes (CBS), Star Trek: Discovery (CBS) Sept. 25: The Voice (NBC), The Big Bang Theory (CBS), Young Sheldon (CBS)The Good Doctor (ABC) Sept. 26: Lethal Weapon (Fox), NCIS (CBS), This Is Us (NBC), Bull (CBS), The Mick (Fox), Brooklyn Nine-Nine (Fox), NCIS: New Orleans (CBS), Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders (NBC) Sept. 27: Empire (Fox), Survivor (CBS), The Blacklist (NBC), Speechless (ABC), Star (Fox), SEAL Team (CBS), Law & Order: SVU (NBC), Modern Family (ABC), American Housewife (ABC), Chicago P.D. (NBC), Criminal Minds (CBS) Sept. 28: Thursday Night Football Pre-Game Show (CBS), Superstore (NBC), Grey’s Anatomy (two-hour premiere) (ABC), NFL Thursday Night Football (CBS), Will & Grace (NBC), Great News (NBC), The Orville (time period premiere), Chicago Fire (NBC), Sept. 29: Hell’s Kitchen (Fox), MacGyver (CBS), The Exorcist (Fox), Hawaii Five-0 (CBS), Dateline NBC (NBC), Blue Bloods (CBS) Sept. 30: 48 Hours (CBS)
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TRENDING
HOMECOMING True Colors
The Mentor Sept. 18, 2018 MHSMentor.com
Here are some insights into what’s happening leading up to HOCO Manhattan High football Looking at team prepared for Powderpuff Game plan ‘True Colors’ homecoming game Meredith Graves, Ryliegh Lancaster and Rachel Edie Staff Writers
Jimmy Marshal Staff Writers
At Manhattan High School, every year has brought refreshing themes for our homecoming games and dances. Homecoming is right around the corner, and Tribe has announced this year’s theme for the games and dance: “True Colors.” “We wanted to do something unique and different this year, and that is why we chose True Colors,” Tribe member Haleigh Harper, senior, said. “We picked the True Colors Theme this year because we really wanted to emphasize the fact that everyone is welcome, and that no matter where they’re from or what you believe in, it is really important to show your true colors, and who you really are.” The theme is a little different from last year’s movie theme. This one, rather, is about the individual, to let MHS students celebrate who we are, where we have come from and what we do. So at this homecoming, whether you are watching the game, hanging out at the dance, or being with friends, this one is about you.
Coy Cavender and Joe Hall Staff Writers
Manhattan High will face off against Emporia High on Sept. 18 for the big homecoming game. The undefeated Indians will try to keep their winning streak going as they face the 1-2 Spartans. The game will be at Bishop Stadium. “We are practicing, watching film, scouting and lifting,” senior captain Chace McIlvaine said about preparations. McIlvaine does not have a different approach to the Homecoming game. “It’s just another game for us,” he said. “The goal is to win.”
NHS game night preview
Manhattan High PowderPuff football and cheer teams have been working hard at practice to achieve the goal of entertaining students during Homecoming week. “Expect a good and funny show,” Lawson Monico, senior, said. PowderPuff has been a tradition at MHS for a long time. PowderPuff is a football game where the traditional gender roles are swapped and the cheer team is made up of senior boys and the football team is made up of girls. To be on the cheer team you have to be a senior guy and you sign up by volunteering. The football team is made up of all high school girls that volunteer for the game. The cheer team will be per-
Heidi Hansen and Julianna Poe Staff Writers
Are you ready for this year’s Homecoming week? Well, this year National Honor Society club will be continuing their tradition of hosting a game night. The details are yet to be determined. “We maybe would do some rendition of volleyball, some not official volleyball game… like a twist on volleyball, or kickball,“ Robin Mall, NHS sponsor, said. Not only will there be a game you can play, but you can also bring board games to enjoy with your friends. The activity will be completely complementary and is expected to go from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the north gym. Be sure to wear attire you can run in Hannah Le and Katya Tarabrina if you wish to participate in the game. Staff Writers “I hope people come and have With the 2018 Homecom- fun with us,” Mall said. Keep a listening ear out for ing Pep Rally approaching on Wednesday Sept. 26, the students more information on the finalized are busy preparing for their per- date, time, location and activity formances. The cheer and dance that will take place during Hometeam, as well as the band, will be coming week. performing at the rally. “We’ve come together as a team, [both Junior Varsity and Varsity] with three-hour-long Tell us your HOCO practices twice a week for the past routine! DM our Instamonth, focusing on a difficult routine to wow the crowd once we go gram @MHSMentor out there,” Meghan Maine, seor Tweet us nior cheerleader, said. @MHSMentorOnline Maine also includes, “I think to let us know! once we go out there and perform, we’ll hit everything and make it perfect. We’ve been working hard to put everything together. I know I’m excited to show everyone what we’ve been working on.” “[We will be performing] a hip hop piece, [that is] a bunch of songs combined, which is cool,” Anika Nyp, freshman on the dance team said. Tribe Club members, led by sponsor Leslie Finnell, are in charge of organizing the pep rally. Finnell said that tribe has been Cloe Henderson and Elisa coordinating where all the stu- Ohler Staff Writers dents will be seated at the event. Tribe has chosen True Colors Finnel said she’s excited about this year’s rally and it’s a different as this year’s Homecoming theme structure then from past years, in as a way to tie back to the school year’s theme of compassion. order to involve more students. On what will be happening at Suman Wang, Senior Tribe Presithe rally, Finnell said, “This year, dent said “It was a way to insure the pep rally will be just a pep ral- everyone felt included and that ly, [with] no games or speeches,” they could a0ctively participate”. Some activities that you can she said. The band will also be per- be looking forward to this coming forming many songs, such as the spirit week are the Wednesday’s Fight Song and our school song. PowderPuff football and cheer Finnell said that she believes the game. As well as Thursday’s club 2018 pep rally will involve more dodgeball game. Finally to end off students, and she is excited for the spirit week with a kick, the Varsity Football’s “neon out” game day to come. against Emporia High School on Friday.
Wang outlines Spirit Day themes for Homecoming week
Zane Kohl showing off his moves for Powder Puff. Photo by freshman Larissa DeLeon
Homecoming Expectations Bella Lane and Parker Dawdy Staff Writers
From freshman to senior, students have many different expectations for Homecoming. We asked students, “What are your expectations for Homecoming?”. Here are some of their responses.
Q and A
Preview of Homecoming Pep Rally
Pampered to Perfection
forming at the pep rally as well as at the football game. They are taught a choreographed routine by predetermined peers. The team this year is smaller than previous years have been with less than 20 scheduled to cheer. The boys practice cheer Monday through Thursday after school until around 4:30 p.m. The girls that volunteered this year to be put on the football team were then placed on two teams. The teams are divided by grades with the freshman and juniors on one team and sophomores and seniors on another. Eventually, they end up facing off in the PowderPuff game. They practice after school just like the cheer team does. “I’m very excited for PowderPuff because we get to pump up the whole school for the game,” Kevin Kilner, senior, said.
Sophomore
Isabel Chavez: “To be good, I guess.” Chris Bedros: “It’s going to be lit.” Jakob Hagemeister: “I’m excited to go and have fun with all my friends. I don’t really care about all of the Homecoming king or queen aspect, just going to a party with my friends.”
Junior
Shelby Goscha: “I think this year’s dance is going to be a lot of fun! Everyone I’ve talked to is really looking forward to it. I’m expecting lots of decorations like last year!” Chandler Marks: “To have fun and enjoy it.” Madaline Crocker: “Good music to dance to.”
Senior
Kailey Dunavin: “Fun, safe, good music.” Meghan Maine: “For it to be good, hype, exciting, lit.” Owen Stuckwisch: “Don’t have any, not going.
Spirit Days Creative asks
Monday- Blue; Baby blue, navey blue, or all denim Tuesday- Pink; Kinda like a pig or like Sharpay Evans locker Wednesday-Yellow, anything yellow under the sun Thursday- Tie dye; absolutely to dye for Friday-The annual Class Colors; Go Big Blue!!
proving successful Heidi Hansen and Julianna Poe Staff Writers
Manhattan High School students are kick-starting homecoming excitement early by creatively asking one another to the dance. For example, freshman Zeke Cole asked his girlfriend, freshman Emy Bise, this past week to the dance in a unique way. He bought her a Starbucks drink and made her a poster that read: I like you a latte… Homecoming? Spoiler alert: she said yes. “I was very surprised, I thought it would be something simple,” Bise said. She said she’s excited that not only did he make her a sign, he got her a Starbucks Frappacino. “I’m looking forward to everything because it’s our first high school dance,” she said.
Freshman
Deeshana Nilaweera: “Having a good time with friends and nothing more.” Maria Arroyo: “To have good music.” Tanner MacIntosh: “Finna be lit”
Insight on setup of Homecoming Dance Kris Long, Eathan Morrow and Cole Schmitt Staff Writers
The Homecoming Dance is taking place at 7:00pm. Saturday Sept. 29, in the Manhattan High West Campus North gym and commons area. The theme for the dance is called True Colors. “Monday is going to be like a certain color,” said Tribe CoPresident Erin Stenberg, “like everyone wear pink. Then Tuesday everyone wear... I forget I think it’s like blue, and it’s just supposed represent true colors as and like be yourself, bring your true colors, to MHS.” Good news for those of you who don’t or can’t dance, there will be many things to do at the dance besides dancing. “There’s a D.J. in the north gym,” Stenberg said, “and there’s a snack table and a photo booth.” Tribe members will set up the dance and will be arriving at the school at 8:00 am that Saturday morning, Stenberg described the decoration style as “very colourful.” The budget for the dance this year is around 700$, which will pay for the aforementioned D.J., photo booth and snacks. “Last year we had about 600 students go so, each year the number of people that go gets bigger so I think we’re expecting anywhere between 500 and 700 people this year,” Stenberg said, that’s approximately 35 percent of the school attending. The dance caps off a Powderpuff football game, pep rally and school spirit week. “...but I think it’ll be fun,” Stenberg said “I think it’ll be good.”