181106 Vol. 106 Edition 7

INSIDE THIS EDITION FOOTBALL -- Sophomore Dayne Aschenbrenner (far left) runs the ball during the Manhattan High School Varsity football game on Friday. Photo by Hailey Eilert MUSICAL -- Senior Kate Washburn (left) sits on the floor during the Manhattan High School fall musical rehearsal. Photo by Tara Wood See Pages 3 and 5 for more

THE MENTOR VOLUME 106 - ISSUE 07 - NOV. 06, 2018

MHSMENTOR.COM

Students block out Westboro with counter-protest

Photo by Olivia Haas Junior Tanya Singh waves to bystanders and holds up a sign during the counter-protest in response to the Westboro Baptist Church on Thursday. Students and faculty at Manhattan High School stood outside the grounds of MHS as a form of protest against the Westboro Baptist Church. Students held signs displaying their pride and support for the LGBTQ community like Singh’s with positive messages like “they hate whom they fear.”

Micheal Simmons Blue M Editor-in-Chief

On the cold, dark morning of Nov. 1, the roaring voices of hundreds of Manhattan High students and teachers filled the air as they came together to counter-protest the Westboro Baptist Church. Less than 10 WBC members stood within 100 feet of the counter-protest, holding signs saying “God mocks America” and “Fags are doomed.”

“The students are excited to be out here,” Superintendent Dr. Marvin Wade said. “I’m really proud of the fact that they are behaving so appropriately. Standing here watching this group [of students] is exciting but also watching the students drive past the other side [where the Westboro members are]...they are not acknowledging those other indi-

viduals.”

WBC gave a press release on Oct. 28 announcing that they would protest MHS, due to their recent title of the most supportive community for the LGTBQ in Kansas awarded by the Human Rights Campaign.

After hearing the intercom announcement from Manhattan High principal Greg Hoyt about the protest that WBC would be holding at MHS, Student Body President Parker Wilson, senior, decided to hold a protest of his own. The counter-protest was in support of the Manhattan High Gay-Straight Alliance, who the protest was specifically aimed against.

As cheers of the MHS students grew louder and engine roars from students arriving at school became more often, the WBC protest was brought to nothing

but deafening silence.

“I didn’t actually get to hear anything they said because of everyone [around me blocking it out],” Wilson said. “I did see one of their signs, and I just don’t get it. There is enough hate that people have to deal with, with things going on in their daily lives or the stress of high school so I don’t understand why bring more. I was just glad that the positive message of our side was heard more than the hateful, insulting comments they were trying to throw at us.”

WBC members have traveled the country hosting several protests, giving the same message that they gave Manhattan High. WBC protested Grand Blanc High School in Michigan because a transgender student was listed on their homecoming court. During this protest, Grand Blanc students had the same re-

sponse Manhattan High did, that is refusing to listen to WBC and instead show support for their community. Despite their audience having this reaction multiple times, WBC continues to preach the same message.

“These children have been raised in lies,” WBC member Rebekah Phelps-Roper said. “I have been raised in the truth of god, [these children] are told from the cradle that you are perfect just the way you are and that you can engage in whatever sin you want to and the lord is going to love you and your going to go to heaven and you have nothing to worry about and that is the worst lie you can tell someone. [This lie] does not cause them to repent and it doesn’t cause them to see that they need a saviour like all humans stand in need of a savior.”

While the counter-protest did

bring attention to WBC’s message, GSA did not take part in the protest as an organization. Some members still chose to partake in the protest, but the majority of the club thought it better to ignore the WBC. “I didn’t really look at their signs,” Junior and GSA president Anya Wesley said. “I’m aware of what they say and I’m not really to affected by it because I have a good support system, so it made [the signs] almost funny because of how outlandish it was. I feel saddened for the people who are affected by these things, like for those who see it outside of school and then see the same thing, that’s disheartening.”

Wesley promotes the GSA club as a good support system for anyone, especially those who are affected by things such as the WBC’s message.

Debate has week of success at several tournaments IPS works with area elementary students Ayden Boyles Staff Writer

Debate has had a week of success at the Junction City and Shawnee Heights tournaments on Oct. 27, Oct. 30 and Nov. 3.

At Junction on the 27th, the team had many individuals place in the top ten, with the team receiving fourth place overall. The team took 24 students to Shawnee Heights, resulting in two varsity division top three placements, a second place win in open division and a top ten placement in the novice division.

“I’m thoroughly impressed by the first year debaters that are going up this year, they’ve worked hard,” Mac Phrommany, MHS debate head coach, said. “It took a little bit of wrangling to get them out to tournaments… but I think the competitive and personal success and the meeting of goals and realizing that they’re more talented than they realize, has really shown a lot of these kids debate might be something they want to stick with...”

The debate team had two undefeated teams at the Shawnee

Heights tournament last Tuesday, which Phrommany says was very competitive, and high ranks from Shawnee Heights last Saturday.

Shawnee Heights, while quickly becoming a shining moment for the team, had complications of its own. Advanced debate pairs juniors Trinity Brockman and Will Bannister, and juniors Megan Keenan and Allison Payne -who have had multiple successes this season -- both placed in the top three in the varsity division.

Keenan and Payne won the quarter-final round on a 3-0 decision, setting up to face Brockman and Bannister, who went undefeated, in the semi-finals. At the decision of Phrommany, Brockman and Bannister “stepped over” Keenan and Payne rather than debate them, going on to win the entire varsity division. Keenan and Payne went on to take third. “[Being asked to debate Keenan and Payne] was kind of weird, but I knew since we had a higher record there was nothing we could do.” Brockman said.

“It was a slightly rough weekend since both [Bannister] and I were sick, and it was [Bannister’s] first time in varsity, but since we were able to get a lot of work done be-

fore the tournament we were able to be well prepared.”

Pairs Tanya Singh, junior, and Sam Delong, freshman, also took second in open at Shawnee Saturday. Jonathan Stanger, senior, and Dominkyas Metlevski, junior, took eighth in the novice division.

The tournament at Shawnee took place just two days after the Westboro protest, where debate students had the opportunity to practice some abstract lessons.

“We had been leading up to lessons about staying cool, calm and collected in the face of stress. [The Westboro Baptist Protest] was a perfect example… of what it means to be stressed out, to have someone yelling at you, to have someone working against you... and staying cool calm collected in the face of duress, in the face of stress in the face of adversity,” Phrommany said. “That’s something we practice in our debate rounds, which is a more safe and secure space. These are lessons that are going to be extended into the real world.”

Debate will compete at Highland Park this Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday.

Tara Wood Staff Writer

Interpersonal Skills helped elementary student from across the district participate in the annual Hoop, Holler ‘N’ Shoot throughout the past month It’s a free throw contest for all the elementary school students in USD 383 where students compete to win $100 for their class.

“There will be two winners at the very end,” senior Marlaina Hummel said. “They’ll go to the Kansas State basketball games and then they’ll shoot to win.”

The Little Apple Optimist Club is the local business that has kept Hoop, Holler ‘N’ Shoot going all these year. With volunteers like IPS students that excite the kids, it doesn’t seem likely to go anywhere soon.

“There’s a professional club in town called the Optimist Club [it’s] just like business professionals in town and they do things to raise money for different causes and things Hoop, Holler, and shoot one of the events that they put on every year,” IPS teacher Eric Eckland said.

For the past month IPS students

have been volunteering to go around to all of the elementary schools and help with Hoop, Holler ‘N’ Shoot. Just this past week seniors Katie Spooner and Colton Kirk went to Lee Elementary School to help cheer on the kids as they competed.

“We were watching the girls side and the highest score was two out of the ten but we were just trying to cheer him on. Colton like loves basketball so he was really excited to be there,”Spooner said. “He got kind of mad when he was asked to give it back to the player, but I think it was really cool.”

The kids free throw competition has been going for quite some time, with this being the twentieth anniversary of Hoop, Holler, ‘N’ Shoot. Those that have grown up in the district might remember doing it themselves as kids.

“I know that kids that go through IPS now but remember doing it when they were in elementary school. Seniors in high school can remember doing it so it’s been going on for a long time,” Eckland said. “Our end of it is we provide the student volunteers to go and they… help like check rebounds and organize the kids.”

OPINIONS

2

The Mentor Nov. 06, 2018

Regulations needed for hate speech Young people should treat Hate must be fought against with love, acceptance of all people, viewpoints 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

Hate speech. What is it? Is it a thing?

According to Merriam Webster, hate speech is speech expressing hatred of a particular group of people. Hate speech was also the hot topic of Manhattan High last Thursday when the Westboro Baptist Church protested outside of MHS, using their First Amendment right to speak against the LGBTQ community.

Although they peacefully assembled their protest, there are still major debates in today’s society about inflammatory speech.

How far is too far?

It is the consensus of The Mentor editorial board that regardless of the topic, there should be regulations on what kind of language can be used when considering inflammatory speech.

We acknowledge that some people believe that hate speech isn’t real and is over-exaggerated,

but the general agreement is that there should be regulations for inflammatory speech.

WBC came for a reason. Manhattan High School was voted the top LGBTQ friendly community in all of Kansas. Considering that our school has its own separate club for the LGBTQ community, Gay-Straight Alliance, it quickly became a target for WBC. There is such a thing as hate speech in the sense that, people are negatively sayings things that about an entire group of people, such as by race, gender, sexual orientation or even organization.

If everything that is being said is purely opinion-based, that had no factual backing, then that can be considered hate speech.

Even though Westboro still protested against the LGBTQ community with signs that were very controversial, they peacefully assembled their protest in a way that wasn’t violent. Back in 2016, The Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida, experienced a shooting due to the shooter’s strong be-

liefs against the LGBTQ community. If it came to this extent with Westboro, hate speech would have eventually turned into a hate crime where the First Amendment would not support that situation.

We’ve come to a point in America where issues such as targeting a specific culture or group of people is not as frequent as it used to be, but is still an important issue that impacts individuals every day. Not only does it create chaos in the community, but it also creates a hostile environment for the people being affected by the protests. It gets to a point where this type of behavior is on the line of abusing the First Amendment right.

Overall, even though the WBC displayed controversial messages, it is never good to fight the hate with hate. That is when it becomes chaotic and creates an unsafe environment. Remember, always treat hate with love. The more love involved, the better we can stop the hate.

Graphic by Anika Nyp

Midterms more important than ever this year

Kris Long Staff Writer

The midterm election day is here, marking some of the most important elections ever. Many Democrats, including myself, have been eagerly awaiting these elections for two years now as a chance to right the wrong of Trump’s presidency. The results of these elections will likely determine the public’s general opinion of major issues including health care and protection for those with preexisting conditions, immigration, environmental protection, gun control and approval of president Trump. I believe are critical issues that must be addressed.

For the last two years much of the Republican party has been attempting to take away affordable health care, overcontrol immigration, has made little effort in protecting the environment and no progress has been made in protecting people from automatic weapons. Voting in this election will give the Republicans a wakeup call as to what the American people really want from their government.

The midterms often serve as a referendum on the presidency, this has never been as true as in this election. Whether or not peo-

ple approve of the president will likely determine how they vote.

A Wall Street Journal poll from Nov. 4 puts Trump’s approval rating at 46 percent. A more general collection of polls put it as low as 41.9%. In elections before this an approval rating this low was followed by a landslide victory from the opposing party.

However, in today’s polarized political landscape this may not be true. The same Wall Street Journal poll shows that voting as a signal of opposition to the current politics is higher right now than it was for George Bush or Barack Obama. This shows what the American people really think about the current president and if the Democrats win the house and maybe even the senate it will tell Republicans to stop bending over backwards to cater to Trump’s needs.

The results of the midterms will determine popular opinion on many contentious issues. The population is divided on many issues but never more than on immigration, health care, gun control and the environment. Most Republican platforms but not all are anti-immigration and anti-Affordable Care Act ie. Obamacare.

This means that if the main population supports Obama care and higher immigration rates the Republicans will lose ground. This looks to be the case as the chance Democrats will take the majority of the house is 5 in 6 according to FiveThirtyEight.com, a general collection of multiple polls. The chance to take the senate for the

democrats is 1 in 7, much lower but still a chance. If voting turns out overwhelmingly blue today it will show Republicans that they need to come more towards the center on these key issues.

The elections this year are extremely close, which will motivate more people to come out and vote because they believe that their vote counts. These races are only close because of the larger amount of Democrats voting and swing voters voting increasingly for democratic candidates. This proves that people care more about politics since 2016 and understand that elections have consequences. Even the Kansas gubernatorial race is close, Kobach, the Republican candidate, is leading by 2.4 percent as of Sunday, which is impressive in such a traditionally red state. If Democrats are able to swing traditionally red states and districts it will send a clear message: Americans are not happy with the current politics.

33 million people have come out to vote through early voting.

This is a record high for midterm voting, close to presidential levels. This shows that many other people believe like I do that these midterms are critical to the nation. In 2016 America received a wake-up call from the Trump election and hopefully we have learned our lesson. The midterms this year will have a profound effect on the American politics of the future. It’s critical to vote in these elections if you’re old enough and to encourage others to go out and vote if you’re not.

Question of the Week What is your favorite movie of all time?

“My favorite movie is The Nightmare Before Christmas.”

- Tara Atchison, sophomore @tara.atchison007

“I have two. Apollo 13 and The First Wives Club. Don’t @ me because The First Wives Club is so good!”

-- Michael Clark, sophomore @moonovermichael

“The Lion King.”

Next week’s question: What is the best book or book series you have ever read, and why?

Kaitlin Clark -- Print Editor-in-Chief Meredith Comas -- Online Editorin-Chief Micheal Simmons -- Blue M Editorin-Chief Brianna Carmack -- Opinions Editor Sophia Comas -- Sports Editor Hannah Heger -- Features Editor Rachel Edie and Julianna Poe -- Copy Editors Hailey Eilert -- Photo Editor

Mason Alberto and Makenna Wollenberg -- Assistant Photo Editors Staff Writers and Photographers -Ayden Boyles, Kami Bussmann, Josh Flickinger, Olivia Haas, Cade McNeil, Javi Mercado, Aloera Ostermann, Madison Ritz, Jennifer Sadler, Riley Williamson, Tara Wood Video Production -- Gabe Jernigan, Duncan O’Brate, Jarrod Wege 21st Century Journalism -- Kyla

parents with greater respect

Madison Ritz Staff Writer

At some point we’ve all treated our parents horribly, whether it was intentional or not. Your parents aren’t here forever, so make every second of time with them last, and cherish it. Treat your parents with respect, they’ll absolutely enjoy how much nicer you treat them.

My parents left Manhattan to attend a wedding in Bonner Springs on Nov. 2. I still had to attend school and work concessions stands on Friday, so I stayed home while they attended the wedding. After I got done working concession stands at Bishop, I wanted to drive home. Before the game, Kimball Avenue wasn’t blocked off but after the game ended, Kimball Ave. had me detour to College Avenue. I wasn’t familiar with the middle of K-State in the dark. I continued to drive forward and I ended up getting lost. I pulled over and texted my mom telling her I was lost and had no clue where I was.

My dad called me and to direct me while on the phone, even while not being in Manhattan at the time. He did it so calmly that I drove home without stress and anxiety. Your parents are willing to be there for you, even when they’re not in the same city.

Sometimes your parents notice something wrong. For example, say you’re giving your parent an attitude because you had something bad happen to you

Play for something bigger than yourself

Aloera Ostermann Staff Writer

As athletes we often times go to our games and just play. Sometimes we play for something, other times we just go through the motions. But I have no doubt that every time you play for something bigger than yourself, the experience is much better.

As athletes we all want to be the best. Yet we can’t always accomplish that, at least not when we play just for ourselves.

In every sport if we spend our time focusing on how “I” can be the best than we will never be satisfied. There will always be something more we are trying to reach, something that is typically unattainable. Yet if the focus is switched to how can “we” be the best, that is attainable. By everyone building not only bonds during the game but during life as well your team becomes much stronger as a whole. Then, as a team “we” can eventually become the best.

This is the first step in playing for something more. You’re learn-- Rita Marshall, sophomore ing to play for your team rather @ritamarshall2002 than just for yourself. But what if we take it a step further? What if as individuals we each had our own thing to play for? We could play for the team and our own cause. We would be stronger we would know that the wins and losses are more than that. We

Barnett, Coy Cavender, Parker Dawdy, Emma Elliott, Gavin Gaston, Meredith Graves, Joe Hall, Heidi Hansen, Chloe Henderson, Naysa Hicks, Ryleigh Lancaster, Bella Lane, Hannah Le, Kris Long, Jimmy Marshall, Ethan Morrow, Anika Nyp, Elisa Ohler, Cole Schmitt, Katya Tarabrina, Nicholas Walters Kristy Nyp -- Advisor

at school that day. Your parents would like you to change your attitude so that you’re not projecting your mood onto someone else, ruining their day, too. Your parents are with you through the good and bad moments of your life.

Your parents have probably made some of the same mistakes as you. So listen to them, they might have some good advice on what to do next time or what not to do. As much as you hate to admit it, your parents are right about 99 percent of the time.

They know what’s best and are willing to show you what’s right and wrong.

Everyone either has a parent or guardian raising you unless you live alone. They have no choice but to raise you to who you’ll become in the future or even who you are right now.

Most of us can agree your parents have invested their time, money, effort, love and patience into raising you to this day. They won’t ever give up on raising you, so don’t give up on them.

They’re trying their hardest to make sure you have the most successful future ahead of you.

They’re also sacrificing everything they have to make sure you’re happy, and to make sure you’re loved.

Start off by sharing something like a compliment toward them at the beginning or the end of the day. They’ll be so glad you said something nice and it’ll make their days so much better. If they had a bad day, even something small like “I love you” would absolutely make their day.

We know inside, we want our parents to be proud of us at all costs, so be proud of them too, they’re the ones helping you get through your life.

Circulation Team -Mary Alderink, Caleb Barnes, Sebastian Bryant, Angel Cid, Brandi Cummings, Caleb Deloach, Rachel Efken, Kimberley Genandt, Terra Harvey, Kayla Wong The Mentor is published each Tuesday that school is in session at Manhattan High School, 2100 Poyntz Ave. Manhattan, Kan. Telephone (785) 587-2114.

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could learn that it’s about the effort and the hard work that make or break the game not just the score. With this mentality you could be really good. The wins and losses wouldn’t affect you as much. Although wins are a bonus that’s not the only thing you are playing for. You have a reason to keep doing good and a reason to get better.

Now imagine as a team your not only playing with a “we over me” mentality but that you’ve all found one thing to fight for. You’re all motivated by this thing, you’re playing each game with this thing in your head and each win is dedicated to this one thing. As a team the losses may be tougher but the victories are so much sweeter. You all have one common goal, one thing that drives each and every one of you to do your best.

In sports you have to make each game worth something. As a team, find one thing that motivates you, one thing to fight for, one thing that makes every loss worth the hard work. As athletes we have to find something to continually motivate us and that thing is best found when we become a part of something bigger than ourselves.

Coach Jim once said, “A person does not become whole until he or she becomes a part of something bigger than himself or herself.” So take some time to find out what you are playing for, to figure out why you go through the long and gruelling practices the tough games. What is your reason to play? Is it bigger than yourself ?

If not go out and find something that is and all the time you spend working to be better will suddenly be worth it. 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 Nov. 06, 2018 MHSMentor.com

3

BOYS SOCCER TACKLES SEASON LOSSES Soccer comes together Alonso leaves legacy of success and perseverance in support of Head Coach Kaitlin Clark Print Editor-in-Chief

Aloera Ostermann Staff Writer

Hashtags, fundraisers and playing for a purpose were tributes the Manhattan High soccer team and their families used to support head coach Frank Alonso in his battle with stage IV pancreatic cancer. Many players and fans were very disheartened by the discovery but the soccer team took the tragic news under their wing and ran with it.

The boys began coming up with different hashtags to remind themselves of what they were now fighting for. They began using the phrases “Fight for Frank” and “You’ll Never Walk Alone” with the hashtag #YNWA. They wore purple warm ups and made the theme of their games purple to signify the fight for cancer.

“We’re sad for the tragedy, but also, in a way it’s been motivating us more, giving us a bigger reason to fight than just winning state,” senior Logan Englehorn said.

They immediately started doing many different things to fundraise for Alonso’s cause.

Mitzi Frieling, mother of sophomore player Colton Frieling, set up a GoFundMe account, where many soccer players and their families were quick to pitch in. They retweeted and posted on their Snapchat stories to spread the word for funding. The page raised $45,155 for Alonso in just 21 days, as well as getting many comments showing the multitude of people who were supporting him.

The soccer team also decided to contribute on their own. They quickly made bracelets that said “DO IT FOR FRANK” and sold them for $3 during the week.

Even more than selling bracelets, the team assisted senior Rafael Cuevas and his family set up an a stand where they sold homemade Mexican food. “... My family is really good at is making food, authentic Mexican food,” Cuevas said. “We sold all the food we can make and whatever we made...goes straight on to Frank.”

People could also buy $5 raffle tickets to win a seven-day resort vacation and other smaller prizes.

All proceeds made that day, regardless of how the team made it, were all sent to aid Alonso and his family.

Soccer wasn’t the only sport donating though. At Friday’s football game senior Haleigh Harper’s family and 2018 graduate Jalin Harper sold hot chocolate at a booth.

Other teams around the area also helped out, some even donated gate fees from their games.

Shawnee Heights gave the soccer team bracelets and Garden City posed for a picture even after being beat 4-0 to show their support.

“I think it shows how the soccer communities and communities around here are like, everyone’s helpful. If there’s a bigger cause, then we’ll just put away arguments like rivalries,” Englehorn said. “I mean, it just gives us more support and motivates us further as well knowing we have more teams behind us.”

The boys said they used their struggles as motivation to succeed through the season, which they dedicated to their coach. “[I’d tell him] that I love him,” senior Cole Herpich said, “and that we did this for him.”

Head soccer coach Frank Alonso passed away Sunday morning at the age of 52 after his battle with stage IV pancreatic cancer. Alonso leaves behind a legacy of working with the Manhattan Indians boys soccer team for 19 years, 13 of which he was head coach.

“He loved us and we loved him,” former player Lane Religa said in a written statement.

Alonso had a background in soccer, playing professionally for the Brentford Football Club outside of London, England.

He received his Masters degree in Sports Administration from Kansas State University. Alonso was a well-liked and skilled coach, even earning a National B License from the United States Soccer Federation.

He leaves behind both his family and the family of players he has brought together over the years.

“During the games he loved to complain about the calls I made,” senior Michael Turnley said in a written statement, “and every time he said something I would turn back and see his usually huge grin.

Photo by Jennifer Sadler Head Coach Frank Alonso walks along the field with senior Jack Easton during the Manhattan High Varsity boys soccer game.

To see more coverage of the soccer team, go to MHSMentor.com and view this edition’s Athlete of the Week, junior Carter Weins, starting midfielder

MHS soccer team becomes runner-up in state tournament Kris Long Staff Writer

For the third time in program history, Manhattan’s boys soccer team placed second in the state tournament on Saturday in Olathe.

The 18-3 team finished one place better than last year, but it’s still a disappointment for a team that traveled in a bus that had “Fight for Frank” written on the windows in honor of head coach Frank Alonso, who wasn’t able to attend the match due to his battle with stage IV pancreatic cancer.

“We’re fighting for [Frank Alonso] and I think that really showed,” Seth Yurgel, assistant coach, said.

Manhattan won the Regional championship last week against Dodge City taking them to state two years consecutively for the first time. They played in the

semifinal on Friday against Shawnee Mission East who proved to be a very even match to Manhattan.

Throughout the whole of regulation time and overtime the game was in a deadlock. Each team had very strong defensive lines that allowed few shots on goal. Caleb DeLoach, sophomore starting keeper, had one of his best matches of the season with eight saves in total. Max Lansdowne, senior starting forward, also played well and had a few shots on target throughout the night.

There were a few hair-raising moments when the game looked like it was over for Manhattan which Shawnee sent wide, including one in sudden victory overtime. Shawnee put a ball past DeLoach while Manhattan fans watched in horror as the ball rolled into the left corner only for

the goal to be disallowed because of an offside. The overtime was also scoreless so it went to penalties.

The stadium held its breath as each penalty kick was taken, the first taken by Shawnee Mission and it bounced off the top bar. Manhattan already had the advantage when Carter Wiens, junior starting midfielder, took his penalty, which was saved by the Shawnee keeper, equalizing the two teams again.

Finally, with the teams tied on penalties with one more round to go. DeLoach saved a penalty, giving Manhattan a chance to win it. The last kicker up was senior starting center-back Rafael Cuevas, who tricked the keeper into diving left. The crowd roared as he rolled it into the right side and Manhattan was going to the final.

The final took place on Saturday a 2 p.m. in Olathe against

Head volleyball coach retires Micheal Simmons Blue M Editor-in-Chief

After nine years as the head volleyball coach, six of which ended in the state tournament, Lisa Kinderknecht has chosen to retire from coaching.

Kinderknecht filled the shoes of multiple former coaches who held the title of head volleyball coach at Manhattan High, all of which left a legacy behind as she has.

“I came into a program that was already established,” Kinderknecht said. “I replaced several really good coaches so the program was already really established and due to the previous coaches. They’re were big shoes to fill and it was a privilege to step into such a high qualified program and just enjoy every bit of it. I’m just getting a little older and wanting to enjoy family a little bit more.”

Olathe East High (16-3-1). Unfortunately, the final did not go Manhattan’s way.

Olathe scored from a scramble in the box and from that moment one could see the tiredness in the team from the previous game.

“We were tired from playing a 105 minute game yesterday and if we hadn’t been the result would’ve been different,” French said.

In the second half Olathe scored again to seal Manhattan’s fate. When the whistle finally blew, the Manhattan team crumpled to the ground in disappointment and disbelief. Their faces were wet and red as they were presented the second place trophy and medals. The Olathe team’s fans rushed onto the field while the Manhattan team made their way to the bench.

“I really thought we would come out on top,” French said.

Football takes Regional championship title

Cole Schmitt Staff Writer

Photo by Olivia Haas Head coach Lisa Kinderknecht celebrates the Manhattan High School Varsity Volleyball tem’s leading score against Topeka High, winning the set by just a few points.

While the team made it to the state tournament throughout the majority of Kinderknecht’s career, she ended her final season at MHS without making it to the state tournament. Her final match as head coach was ended

in two sets to Washburn Rural in the sub-state tournament. “[MHS has made it to state three years in a row] so the girls who have been part of the proSee VOLLEYBALL Page 5

“I’m obviously disappointed that we didn’t win but we had one of the best seasons in MHS history beating all kinds of records.”

French himself beat the program record for goals scored in a season and Lansdowne beat the school record for career goals and Wiens beat the State 6A record for assists in a season.

“It’s a better finish than what we had last year, it’s not what we wanted, what we wanted was, obviously, the championship,” Yurgel said. “Hopefully we’ll be back next year and congratulations to these seniors. They’ve done a lot for this program.”

With eight of the starting 11 graduating this year the team playing in 2019 will be very different.

“Next year we’re hoping to come back here again, but we’ll take nothing for granted,” Yurgel said.

Manhattan High Varsity football (9-1) defeated Wichita West (6-4) by a score of 36-25 to win the Regional Championship. The Indians will move on to face one of the best teams in Kansas in the third round of the playoffs.

“The most successful part of this team is the brotherhood we have,” senior captain Brady Flint said. “I truly believe the seniors are the best group of seniors MHS has had in many years. I, no doubt in my mind, [believe] all of us are willing to lay it all out on the line for the guy beside him.”

Manhattan played very well in the first half of the game. The defense came ready to play as they held Wichita West to only twelve points in the first half. Also, the offense was very consistent when

scoring and put up a 29-point cushion.

At half Manhattan was very confident and everyone was fired up. In the second half the offense scored only seven points. This meant the defense had to step up a little bit and they did just that.

The defense managed to hold Wichita West to only 13 points in the second half giving Manhattan the win.

On offense, senior Kevontae McDonald led in rushing with 22 carries for 133 yards and three touchdowns. Sophomore quarterback Dayne Aschenbrenner completed five of seven pass attempts for 119 yards and one touchdown pass. Senior Jaylynn Liggons had a receiving touchdown and a 94yard kickoff return for a touchdown.

See FOOTBALL Page 5

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FEATURES

The Mentor Nov. 06, 2018 MHSMentor.com

Students celebrate ‘Day of the Dead’ Riley Williamson Staff Writer

Olivia Leon’s Spanish classes experienced the culture of Spanish-speaking countries last week by celebrating “Dia de los Muertos,” also known as “The Day of the Dead.”

This ritual took place in Leon’s classroom starting on Wednesday, Oct. 31, through Friday, Nov. 2.

However, Leon’s class has been studying this topic for a while. The class first watched the movie “Coco,” which is based on the Day of the Dead.

“We were inspired by the movie to create the altar,” Leon said.

The students created the altar,, also known as an ofrenda, by themselves, bringing in what was necessary to have it completed like real and fake flowers, candles and pan de muerto. Students also had an opportunity to write a note and place it on the altar.

The note was to any one in their life that had passed. Whatever the individual wanted to remind their loved one, they could write on the note.

“Like, dear grandma/grandpa I miss you very much, I wish you the best there or I’m very proud of what you did in life and I’m very happy that I had the oppor-

tunity to spend time with you,” Leon said, of examples of what students could write on their notes.

Although the movie and altar are two ways to experience and learn about the celebration, students also read an article about the topic and came up with question they could ask the class, in Spanish. This gave them a better understanding of the Day of the Dead.

Another outlook they had was from Leon, who grew up celebrating the holiday with her family.

“Growing up… of course we would go… to the cemetery. And we would bring flowers, candles [and] food [to the altar],” Leon said.

She continues to celebrate the Day of the Dead today, wanting her family to have the same experiences she had.

But learning about the Day of the Dead is not entirely over for the students. Now Leon plans to have her class compare the Mexican celebration, Day of the Dead, to other culture’s holidays to see any similarities.

“I hope [the students] learned that we [should] appreciate the people we have now, alive. And also the people who of course… have died,” Leon said.

ARTIST OF THE

WEEK Finn Huslig sings in Chamber Choir and switches between the tenor one and tenor two parts

Photo by Makenna Wollenberg Senior Finn Huslig reherses for the Manhattan High School fall musical “Newsies” as his character Jack Kelly. Students performing in the show have been practicing since the fourth week of school and had their premire show on Nov. 4.

Finn Huslig Performing Arts Makenna Wollenberg Assistant Photo Editor

What got you into performing?

Ever since I was really young I have been singing and dancing. I use to do the plays and musicals at the Performing Arts Center when I was younger and since then I have been doing every one I had the opportunity to be in.

What is your favorite part about performing?

I really love getting to be someone else for however long the play or musical lasts. Going into this new world. This show [News-

ies] for example 1899 completely different from 2018. Having the New York accent and just becoming a completely different person for two hours is a really fun thing to do.

What part do you play in the play Newsies?

I play Jack Kelly. He is a 17-year-old kid who is an orphan and he is kind of the leader of the group of boys that hand out newspapers everyday in New York and he kind of leads that group through day to day process.

How many plays have you been in since you started high school?

All four of the shows since my freshman to senior year and I have done about three over the summers.

Will you stay in performing after high school?

I definitely would love to. Performing is a really important part of my life and being able to take my creativity and make something out of it is really important to me.

So I would love to make some type of carrier out of performing, whether it is acting or singing.

Interested in writing or taking photos for the Manhattan community to see?

Visit The Mentor staff in room C 107 for more information

You could be the one we are looking for!

Photo by Hannah Heger

An altar that spanish students and teachers helped create for Day of the Dead on Friday. Students brought in bread and flowers to represent and practice the tradition.

Scholars Bowl comes out undefeated in their first meet Brianna Carmack Opinions Editor

Junior Varsity Scholars Bowl kicked off the new season with an 11-0 win in their first meet last Thursday at Topeka High School.

“We went 11-0 on the night and finished in first place,” Ted Dawdy,Scholars Bowl coach, said. “Eleven matches in one night is quite a lot. Typically its seven or eight.”

In Scholars Bowl, a team of five completes against another team of five from another school in a series of rounds.

Each round has 16 questions, all incorporating each of the core subjects. Every first correct response is 10 points. Ezster Chikan, Luke Liu and Abrar Nasser, all freshman, attended the meet on Thursday, and

managed to place first.

“Our communication throughout the rounds were really good, and if we maintain throughout the year then we’d do really good this year,” freshman Luke Liu said.

With a long season ahead, the team has a few goals to accomplish for upcoming meets and tournaments.

“Towards the end of the year our goals are to win the Centennial League Tournament, qualify for the State Tournament and place at the State Tournament,” Dawdy said. “We are on a run of placing four consecutive years at the state tournament which says a lot about the program. Only one other 6A school has accomplished that, Wichita West.”

Lots of practice and hardwork will definitely get Scholars Bowl to that point, but even af-

ter a spectacular win, there is always room for improvements.

“We did have some minor issues that I noticed, such as speed and confidence in ourselves to get the right answer,” freshman Abrar Nasser said. “If we build that up a bit more, I think our situations will be a little better.”

Not only did the meet require Scholars Bowl to show off their intelligence, but it also was an invite for the team to meet new people.

“I enjoyed meeting new people,” Chikan said.

In conclusion, Scholars Bowl came out undefeated, and managed to win with only three freshman. With a bright future ahead, Scholars Bowl should have a great season.

“It’ll be a great year for J.V.,” Liu said.

New course to help students graduate Tara Wood Staff Writer

Students with life barriers and challenging situations now have a new opportunity to get help through a course called JAG-K. JAG-K is a non-profit organization that stands for Jobs for America’s Graduates of Kansas. The new teacher, Dr. Pangie Burns, has specifically prepared for this type of job by having a doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in Science Education. Also known as Theory and Practice of Teaching and Learning.

“I love helping students graduate, whether it’s high school day, whether it’s college, I want to help them get to the next level. And I want to connect them with the resources to make that happen.

A lot of times they don’t know

what the resources are. So we find out what they want then once we find out what they want then we help them to commit to that next level,” Dr. Pangie Burns, JAG-K career Specialist, said. “It makes the transition a little easier because they’re already afraid, but I like helping people through those transitions cause I know how scary that can be.”

According to the JAG-K website the 2017 class had some impressive statistics: a graduation rate of 97 percent statewide, 84 percent successfully employed or on their way to employment, 68 programs in 33 school districts with about 3,100 students. Still, they want to help more students succeed.

Their goal is to help students facing various barriers to success, then overcome those barriers,

earn their high school diploma and start themselves on a successful career path.

“This class kind of makes me open up to people I don’t normally talk to outside of this class, because like, there’s so many different like social groups that are just like together in this class,” senior Elsie Cochrun said.

“It’s just to help us graduate and it’s kind of like a study hall and she like helps us out with stuff like jobs and all that too,” Caleb Jackson, junior, said. “Mrs. Pangie, she’s really nice, like she’ll help you out with anything you need even like out of school and you like text her or whatever she’ll come help you. And like she wants to see you succeed so she’ll do everything she can.”

remember it by when we all go our separate ways,” Cave said.

Ordering class rings is completely optional and students do not have to order them.

“I ordered a class ring mostly because of my parents,” sophomore Mario Caycedo said. “I felt indifferent about it at first, but they encouraged me to buy one because they regret not buying one for themselves.”

Students have over 100 types of rings to choose from when ordering, as well as choosing per-

sonalized details to add on. Many students add the emblems of their favorite sports and extracurricular activities that they participated in during their time here.

“I really like mine,” sophomore Sam Erker said. “I added some stuff that is really close to me so I know that I’m going to enjoy it for years to come.”

To students, there are numerous reasons why a class ring can be important to them.

“I think they are important for student individuality,” Cave said.

“They represent who you are and who you are growing to be.”

Over 100 students here at MHS had ordered a class ring for their senior year. Many students are eagerly excited to receive their class ring this December and upcoming March.

“They’re all part of the high school experience and I am really happy with how mine represents me,” Cave said. “I think it’s awesome that something like this exists for students, I really do.”

Sophomores continue tradition of class ring orders Jennifer Sadler Staff Photographer

It’s the time of year again for students to order class rings. Every year, representatives from Jostens, a company primarily known for creating customized class rings and other apparel, visits with the sophomore class of Manhattan High. The sophomore meeting took place on Oct. 24 during Advisory and was led by Jeff Heline, a Jostens sales representative.

“I thought [the meeting] was really well delivered and infor-

mative,” sophomore Carrie Cave said. “He really got his point across.”

Jostens has been supplying both high school and college students with high-quality rings, for over 120 years.

To many of the students, class rings are an important accessory to help keep high school memories alive and close to them.

“Many great things in my life have started here at our school and will soon end during my time here and I wanted something to

ENTERTAINMENT

The Mentor Nov. 06, 2018 MHSMentor.com

5

‘Newsies’ cast completes dress rehearsal Tara Wood Staff Writer

Quite a bit of work went into the musical before production even started. The directors had to find a musical that would work for

people that would fit the characters they had in the show.

“We have a lot of really energetic students who are also

Pape said. “You know, you can always you always look for somebody who just kind of embodies the spirit of a character. And so

Cast and crew members expect the audience to see the energy of the production, largely because This past week the Manhattan of the stunts and tricks accordHigh theatre department has ing to Pape. “Newsies” has been hard at work preparing a solo performance from for the fall musical “Newsphysically handicapped ies.” The nights of dress recharacter Crutchy, played hearsals often went until 10

by Kate Washburn. As p.m. or later. The whole cast well as solo and duo perfelt the pressure to make sure formances from female everyone and everything was lead Tess Garvin playing prepped and ready to do well Katherine and main charat the opening on Sunday. acter Jack Kelly, played by “[To prepare, we are] makFinn Huslig. It’s an active ing sure the set is done, and and lively performance everyone is ready in costumes, that Grace Franke. makeup and making sure our “Doing the performics are charged,” junior Lomances in front of people gan Linenberger said. “There is always just so rewarding has to be a lot of communicaand exciting. And that’s tion that has to be worked out. something that definitely Not only the cast members, is coming through in this but also our crews.” production,” senior Grace The crew of “Newsies” has Franke said.“There’s albeen busy working on the fall ways moments where musical since September. The we’re on stage and we sort time has come for them to perof looked at each other form the loosely based on the and we know that this real life story 1899 newsboys is special and it’s just so strike. amazing and so electric.”

“They form a union and Newsies has already Photo by Tara Wood then throughout the show The cast of Newsies acts during a scene from the Manhattan High Schools fall musical. The musical this year is “Newsies” a musical had one performance last there’s also a cute love story about taking action against raised newspaper prices. The musicals first performance was this past Sunday, Nov. 4.

Sunday night and will put going on between Katherine on another tonight, Thurssinger-dancer-actors, when you have auditions, it be- day, and Saturday in Rezac audiand Jack and I won’t spoil too a diverse amount of people in the talented much about that,” senior Henry school, because they did not know and we thought this would be a comes very obvious who is right torium at 7 p.m.

Schinstock said. “[It’s] basically how many people to expect at au- good chance to feature a lot of in that role, who seems like that just a good story of brotherhood.” ditions. Then, they had to cast students,” stage director Virginia role.”

Music Students Audition for KMEA Ayden Boyles Staff Writer

Students in orchestra, band and choir went to Junction City on Saturday for Kansas Music Educators Association regional auditions. These auditions are the deciding factor for students to be a part of their regional music group. If accepted into the region’s group, students will then have the opportunity to audition for the All-State music group.

“I like to see as many kids try out as possible, because practicing that music makes them better, because the audition music is pretty difficult,” Nate McClendon, MHS Orchestra Director said.

McClendon also expressed that the whole auditioning process is really good for students to experience.

“I think it’s kind of character building, but it helps them with

From FOOTBALL Page 3

On defense, junior Nathaniel Hanson and senior Raeshon Moore had interceptions while the defense had a blocked punt as well.

“We made plays in all three phases,” head coach Joe Schartz said.

Manhattan High Varsity football (9-1) will travel to Lawrence this Friday to face off with one of

From VOLLEYBALL Page 3

gram have made that their goal but it should never be an expectation. With our league it’s always a battle to get through sub-state and unfortunately we ended up having to play Washburn Rural and they are a really strong program,” Kinderknecht said. “Sure I wanted [to make it to state] for the girls but it’s not going to put any damper on my experience as head coach and how much I enjoyed coaching the girls. I feel very blessed and fortunate that I got to be part of the state tournament when I was but it was the girls that did it not me.”

Throughout her time at Manhattan High, Kinderknecht has left her mark in the history of

stage fright, and just to build them as people,” McClendon said. “So my goal is to have as many students audition as possible, whether or not they make it in.”

There are ways for students to have a better chance at making it into their regional group, according to Matthew Pickering, the audition material is available on KMEA’s website about a year ahead of the audition date, so you can start practicing early.

Pickering hopes that practicing early will help him move up in the All-State orchestra.

“I was fourth chair in the AllState group last year and I didn’t practice the music a lot for that, so this year I hope to be able to hopefully get first chair on the All-State group this year,” Pickering said.

Results are expected to come out later this week.

the best football teams in Kansas -- Lawrence Free State (10-0).

Lawrence Free State has scored 50 or more points in half of their games this year and is out scoring opponents 460-115.

“We have to have a great week of preparation,” Schartz said.

“Lots of focus and determination throughout the whole team. It’s our first road game in a few weeks so we will have to load the bus and still be focused on our goal.”

‘The Walking Dead’ prepares for end of season, Rick’s last episode The following article contains spoilers for the latest episode of AMC’s ‘The Walking Dead’

Bella Lane Staff Writer

Last week’s episode of “The Walking Dead” left with us with one of the biggest cliffhanger ever in the series, with the only certainty being that Rick had been stabbed and that Sunday’s episode would be his last episode.

Nobody knew if he was going to die, leave or just disappear.

The beginning of the episode starts at a flashback of the season one “Rick waking from his coma,” scene. I got butterflies in my stomach thinking, “Oh no, was it all a dream?” Then Rick wakes up. He then has to pry himself from the pole he got caught on previously.

If blood bothers you, maybe you should skip over that part. He gets on his horse and rides away from the now combined herd, “Tordelia.”

You’ll get to see Jadis and sort of find out what she’s been up

to. She is only shown a couple of times throughout the episode and is almost always talking on a walkie-talkie to an unknown man.

While Rick falls in and out of consciousness, old characters who have died on the show will be seen.

They show Shane who talks about his terrible end and how Rick’s family is also his. They show Hershel and his peaceful farm, their conversation ends with an abrupt, “Wake Up!” Sasha is shown next right after they show the iconic doors saying, “Don’t Open Dead Inside,” instead this time they say outside. She is surrounded by a pile of the dead.

Maggie will try and get her revenge on Negan. She heads to Alexandria for the first time in awhile. She says it has been one and a half years since Glenn died (season seven episode one.) An edge of your seat scene, brings the question, “Will she kill Negan?”’

When Rick falls out of consciousness once again, Rick finds his family. They come and try to save him from the herd. Rick awakes realizing this is not reality and just his imagination.

Tension strikes when Rick starts to cross the infamous bridge.

He expects it to break and drown

all the walkers. Shocker, things don’t turn out the way he wants them to. Now in reality, his friends actually show up. Rick continues to lead the walkers across the bridge and notices dynamite. He takes his well known gun, the Python, and lights the dynamite up.

He and all of “Tordelia” fall into the river below the bridge.

Ever sketchy Jadis spots him downstream and takes him into the unknown man’s helicopter.

You’ll be left wondering, does Rick die?

The episode will flash forward to a group of random surrounded by walkers. A little girl shoots the walkers and saves the people.

The girl is none other than Judith Grimes.

The trailer for next week’s episode shows that we will jump forward about five years. Eugene, previous scaredy-cat, is shown killing walkers. Negan is still alive.

Daryl and Rosita are seen covering themselves in mud. Anticipation for the next episodes hit when you hear a walker snarl, “Where are they?” For more information go watch it on American MultiCinema.

Manhattan High volleyball.

Kinderknecht was the first head coach to lead the team to a Centennial League title in 2017, during which they placed fourth at the state tournament. Not only has she left her mark on MHS, she has also made a lasting impact on the athletes she coached.

“I have made so many memories with coach [Kinderknecht] throughout my four years of playing volleyball,” senior Haleigh Harper said. “It’s sad for the both of us that our volleyball career at Manhattan has come to an end but I speak for the both of us when I say we are super excited for that the future has in store for us. I’m glad I ended my volleyball career with such an inspiration and dedicated coach.”

Have you purchased an ad for the Blue M yearbook yet?

Contents and payments are due Dec. 14. Find the order form at https://tinyurl.com/y8basz6a

TRENDING

6

The Mentor Nov. 06, 2018 MHSMentor.com

MovieMonth

Ralph and Vanellope’s adventure continues

Julianna Poe Copy Editor

After six years of waiting, the beloved movie “Wreck-ItRalph” has gained an out-ofthe-blue sequel called “Ralph Breaks the Internet.” Like the name hints, it is expected to ‘break the Internet.’

Immediately after the trailer for the sequel was released, producers faced backlash from fans when Tiana was found to have lighter skin and a thinner nose compared to her appearance in “The Princess and the Frog.” This wasn’t how producers thought their production would initially break the internet. However, the situation was handled.

Anika Noni Rose, who was the original voice of Tiana, met with Disney along with members of the Color of Change organization to discuss the problem and Disney readily obliged to reanimate Tiana.

Along with Tiana and the other Disney princesses, two new characters, Yesss (Taraji P. Henson) and Shank (Gal Gadot), will take the stage while the characters Ralph (John C. Reilly), Vanellope (Sarah Silverman) and Fix-ItFelix (Jack McBrayer) will return to the screen.

Following Ralph’s game jumping that led to him meeting the forgotten princess of Sugar Rush, Vanellope, in “Wreck-It-Ralph,” “Ralph Breaks the Internet” begins with both characters at the

ease we left seeing them with until the arcade owner, Mr. Litwick, brings in a new game called WiFi. That same day, a kid accidentally breaks the steering wheel for Sugar Rush. Mr. Litwick decides he’ll have to unplug Sugar Rush, seeing as he can’t replace the steering wheel since the game manufacturer closed years prior.

The kids find a replacement on Ebay, but their efforts to save their game was in vain for Mr. Litwick deems it too expensive.

Sugar Rush’s plug is then pulled, and Ralph decides to help Vanellope, now without a home, by taking her on an adventure in which they enter the Internet in search of the steering wheel.

Producer Clark Spencer, who took part in “Wreck-ItRalph,” “Zootopia,” “Bolt” and “Lilo & Stitch,” has made it clear that this sequel will be centered around Ralph and Vanellopes’ friendship.

Similar to Ralph’s internal struggle with being a bad guy in his game but a good guy at heart, producers have said that Vanellope will go through a crisis like it in “Ralph Breaks the Internet.”

Spencer has also hinted that there will be a surprisetwist villain that will test Ralph and Vanellopes’ bond, either strengthening it or pulling it apart.

With all of this controversy and suspension that has already formed even before being aired, “Ralph Breaks the Internet” anticipates a $65 million in box office opening weekend, starting Nov. 21, compared to its prequel, which earned $49 million.

‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ memorable

Kyla Barnett Staff Writer

Last Friday “Bohemian Rhapsody” was released in theaters. “Bohemian Rhapsody” is the story of the band Queen and their careers as musicians.

When the trailers were released people were automatically on their toes and extremely excited to see the movie. The trailer shows bits of Freddie Mercury (played

by Rami Malek) getting ready for a performance and the band coming together to form Queen. In the trailer, the main focus is on Freddie, but you’ll see in the movie that a lot less focus is put on Freddie and more on the actual band as well as the forming of Queen.I was delighted and surprised at the factual integrity of the movie, though some liberties had to be taken for the sake of entertainment.

One example was with the making of the band, when it shows Freddie Mercury intro-

‘Grinch’ gets remake coming Friday

Chloe Henderson Staff Writer

ducing himself to Roger Taylor (played by Ben Hardy) and Brian May (played by Gwilym Lee). This was not actually how they met, but some liberties did have to be taken, though many people believe that some of the liberties do Mercury and Queen an injustice.

Another thing that upset some fans was the amount of emphasis put on the relationship with Mary Austin (Lucy Boynton) instead of the relationship between long-term lover Jim Hutton (Aaron McCusker) and Freddie. Fans felt like producers were trying to erase Freddie’s bisexuality.

Malek delivered a stunning and truly believable performance of Freddie Mercury.

Many say that it felt like he was not just playing Freddie, but that he was channeling and becoming him. It is amazing to see and feel the essence that is ‘Queen’ in this movie, and is definitely worth watching even if you aren’t a die-hard fan.

Bohemian Rhapsody has received many great reviews from fans, and has left most feeling nostalgic and reminiscent. It is definitely worth the watch and it is truly a masterpiece.

The beloved “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” is receiving a 2018 animated version coming this Friday. The movie stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Angelina Lansbury, Cameron Seely, Rashida Jones, Pharrell Williams and Tristan O’Hare. It’s directed by Scott

Hacks to improve your movie experience Chloe Henderson Staff Writer

Multiple movies debut in theaters this week alone.

Here are five movie hacks to make your movie theater experience better.

1. Runpee Ever been sitting in movie needing to leave but not wanting to miss an important part of the movie?

Well then, Runpee is the answer to your wishes. It is a free mobile app where you can tell it the movie you’re seeing and it will pull up a timeline of the Movie including breaks.

2. Cinemode Rather then putting your phone in airplane mode or powering it off simply put it in Cinemode. Cinemode is the official Cinemark mobile app.

The app automatically dims your screen and silences notifications. If you do not touch your phone for the duration of the movie you will be given Cinemark points, which can be used at any participating at Cinemark Theater.

3. Butter your popcorn with a straw In order to get maximum butter pay off in your bag of popcorn use a straw to butter it. The straw allows the butter

to reach the bottom of the bag as well buttering more overall popcorn as a result.

4. In order to skip trailers arrived to your movie 13 minutes late Hate watching trailers?

Arrive to your movie 13 minutes late as that is the average time that movies allow for trailers.

5. The best sound quality is in the back Watching a petrifying horror movie? Or an actionpacked action movie? Sit two-thirds of the way back in the middle of the row for the best sound quality.

Second of five ‘Fantastic Beasts’ movies sparks controversies among fans he befriended young Dumbledore. Together, they planned to abolish the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy, a law that prohibited wizards and witches from revealing magic to muggles. Their friendship ended when Dumbledore’s sister Ariana was accidentally killed in a duel they both partook in. Grindelwald was later killed by Voldemort in 1998 when he refused to tell Voldemort the wh e re a b o u t s of the Elder Wand.

Although “Crimes of Grindelwald” is named “Fall’s Most Anticipated Movie” by Fandango, it is not free from controversy. In the final trailer for the movie, Nagini makes an appearance as a woman played

by Claudia Kim. Nagini was known in the Harry Potter series for being a snake and one of Voldemort’s horcruxes. Author Joanne K. Rowling spoke out to the media saying Nagini has always been a Maledictus (a carrier of a curse which ultimately turns the host into a beast) and that in the Crimes of Grindelwald, Nagini was still able to transform into her human form. Many Harry Potter fans don’t believe that

Rowling has been hiding this idea for 20 years without dropping any hints in her previous books.

In 2007, Rowling stated at a fan question and answer session that Dumbledore is gay and had romantic feelings for Grindelwald. Fans had expected Dumbledore’s sexuality to be explored in the “Crimes of Grindelwald,” so when in January director David Yates announced that Dumbledore’s sexuality wouldn’t be directly addressed in the second movie, many opinions were expressed. Some believed that Rowling never intended to include Dumbledore’s sexuality in the books or movies, and that she only made Dumbledore gay to stop the backlash she received for representing a lack of diversity in the series.

Yet in October, Yates spoke out again, saying that Dumbledore’s sexuality is obvious in the movie.

Though the “Crimes of Grindelwald” has produced some disagreements, the movie had many positive reviews at the preview screening at Universal Studios Hollywood for the fans and has started #ProtectTheSecrets amongst fans who already watched the movie to discourage spoilers.

“The Holiday Calendar,” released by Netflix on Friday, is the first of many upcoming holiday movies online.

This movie was one of many movies anticipated to release in the next two months.

Netflix in the past few years has started making movies.

They typically have an aspect

of the traditional “Hallmark” holiday movie vibe.

This movie follows the main character, Abby Sutton (Kat Graham), as she receives an advent calendar that was her grandmother’s. Things seem to spice up when the calendar begins to predict her future. This includes help with her photography and help with guys. There’s also some romantic aspects to the story with a love triangle that forms.

This movie is not fast-paced so if you’re more into action I would not recommend, but begins slow and picks up the plot a bit later into the movie. We

see the main character struggle with issues in almost every aspect in her life, with her career as well as family and friends. It seems to center mainly around her relationship with her best friend, Quincy, who just got back from an extended trip to pursue his dreams. The ending, however cliche, is really sweet and well worth the slow beginning.

The character growth in this is what makes it truly interesting as well as holiday spirited.

Moiser and Yarrow Cheney.

This telling of the movie follows the same plot as the original and live-action versions.

The Grinch is once again joined by his dog, Max. Living atop Mount Crumpet inside a cave, the Grinch has identified his main source of aggravation

during Christmas time. The Who’s chippy Christmas spirit must go. The Grinch plans a sneaky scheme to pose as Santa Claus and steal the Who’s Christmas cheer for good.

Showtimes coming to the Manhattan area include a Thursday standard showing

at 6 p.m. and a three-dimensional (3D) showing at 8:30 p.m. at AMC DineIn Theater at Manhattan Town Center.

Hannah Le Staff Writer

The sequel to “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” hits theaters on Nov. 16. In the “Crimes of Grindelwald,” Gellert Grindelwald, played by Johnny Depp, escapes custody to raise an army of pure-blooded wizards to rule over all the muggles.

When asked for help from his former teacher, Albus Dumbledore, Newt Scamander, played by Eddie Redmayne, offers his assistance.

The film takes place in the 1927, a few months after the first movie where Newt defeats Grindelwald and has him arrested by The Magical Congress of the United States of America. Before Voldemort and the Harry Potter series, Grindelwald caused chaos in the wizarding world. After Grindelwald was expelled from Durmstrang Institute for his dangerous experiments,

Netflix Original: ‘Holiday Calendar’ sweet holiday treat

Rachel Edie Copy Editor