Sept. 24, 2019 Visit MHSMentor.com
THE MENTOR TRUTH & EDUCATION
Smoking breaker causes evacuation Story by Sophia Comas Online Editor-in-Chief
any opportunity to improve on student and staff accountability during those Manhattan High’s West Campus events. put Safety Week’s drills into practice, “It’s good to know that we can praccreating a mass exodus of students tice a certain speed and efficiency of and staff as they evacuated the identifying and certifying that building after the fire alarms went we have a known location of off Thursday afternoon. all the students that we need According to principal Michael to,” Dorst said. Dorst, the evacuation occurred Dorst also says that alwhen the campus’s maintenance though first responders are staff reported smoke coming from the ones who contain threats an electric breaker off of the main to the building, the credit for electric panel, causing the school to keeping occupants safe beissue the evacuation notice along longs to students and staff. with notifying first responders. “We’ve got a great school, While there were no reports great people, and we’re in of flames inside the building, the a great community,” Dorst, school took precautionary measures said. “We’re certainly getto ensure that the safety of students ting a lot of practice on how and teachers was secured before any Students stand outside of MHS West Campus in Triangle Lot to respond to events and the waiting for the buidling to be declared safe after a fire threat on real danger took place. reason we’ve been able to Thursday afternoon. “[The fire department] said we Photo by Mbofho Ndou maintain a sense of normalcy were doing a good job,” Dorst said. is because of the people that “Our staff was doing a good job tendwe have, especially our students and to do,” Dorst said. “It’s really proof ing to your needs,” that safety weeks actually do work and our faculty.” According to Dorst, the fire departAs of now, students and staff are the fire department gave us glowing rement gave him a list of things everyviews from all individuals in all aspects safe to occupy the building and the one still needed to work on after the damaged breaker will stay shut down of keeping our building safe.” fire drill on the previous Monday. He as maintenance continues to fix it, For schools like MHS, being quick said implementing those improvewhich will result in no electrical power in times of crisis is one of the most ments were no challenge to building at the school on Saturday morning as important things in keeping people administrators and members of the it’s being replaced. safe, which is why Dorst appreciates
Debate starts season at Washburn
safety team, who had seen the list barely an hour before the changes needed to take place. “They absolutely went right to work doing the things we had asked them
MHSMentor.com
New Advanced Studies interest group starts at MHS Story by Kris Long Opinions Editor
The new Advanced Studies interest group hopes to open more opportunities to Manhattan High students to take their education outside the classroom. See more on MHSMentor.com
INSIDE THIS EDITION
Football wins against Seaman Vikings. See Football on Page 3
Staff Editorial:
Students need to take drills more seriously See Staff Editorial on Page 2
Homecoming proves eventful ‘Don’t Stop the Music’ keeps students active in spirit week Senior Madeline Crocker, Co-president of Tribe, greets Manhattan High at the fall pep rally on Friday. As president of Tribe, Crocker was instrumental in organizing and running the spirit-filled event.
Story by Meredith Comas Print Editor-in-Chief
Manhattan High’s Debate team started off the competition season this weekend at one of their biggest tournaments of the year: the Washburn Rural Invitational. According to head coach Mac Phrommany, this competition was the first Tournament of Champions national qualifier the Varsity team had ever attended. “It was awesome to see a lot of improvement for my students,” Phrommany said. “I’ve known a lot of these students for the past three years in different capacities and knowing the fact that I’ve been able to see longitudinal growth over a couple of years has been a really cool experience and one I’m thoroughly enjoying.” Senior Elizabeth Kim, along with partner junior Kailitri Jones, placed fourth out of 55 teams in the Open division at Washburn on Saturday, making the quarter-finals for the first time in their debate career. The pair had never worked together before and had planned on a temporary partnership. According to Kim, after Saturday they plan to continue working together throughout the season. “Last year was only my novice year so [Washburn] really allowed me to take my debate skills up to another level and I think so did [Jones] because this was the first time either of us had made it to the finals,” Kim said. “I think something magical happened where we were just perfect for each other.” The Varsity team -- made up of senior Trinity Brockman and sophomore Sam Delong -- had finished last year’s season set up to make waves this year. The pair did not disappoint. According to Phrommany, Brockman and Delong made it all the way to the top 16 out of 62 teams in the Varsity Division. Of those 62 teams, Brockman was recognized as the single best competitor and Delong was recognized as the 8th best. The varsity division was a national level competition, featuring teams from Arkansas, Oklahoma and Kansas. “I was proud of both of us since there were almost 200 speakers,” Brockman said. “Doing well at the opening tournament not only made us more credible and a threat to other schools, but now we have a good idea on how to win tournaments coming up.” The team will go on next weekend to compete at the Wichita East Invitational.
Volume 107 Issue 4
Photo by Meredith Comas
Story by Sophia Comas Online Editor-in-Chief and Jermey Emberton Staff Writer
A
s per usual with most high schools, the entire concept of Spirit Week can yield some varied results. Manhattan High did not disappoint as nearly 1,800 students flocked through the doors dressed in an array of themed outfits to celebrate the week of Homecoming.
“The themes help get students involved...” -- Kira Shartz “I think the themes help students get involved,” Tribe president Kira Schartz, senior, said. “Also, the posters are a good way to communicate what’s going on.” Each theme for the day was inspired by the overall theme, which was “Don’t Stop the Music.” To keep in style with the concept, each day was themed using song titles such as “Mr. Brightside” and “Party in the U.S.A” While the themes themselves were relatively tame, the organization behind them was stressful. The planning and executing created minor challenges throughout the week along with the organization behind events like the pep rally and PowderPuff. “It’s definitely been stressful,” Schartz said. “We have everything in place and organized, so I’m pretty confident that its going good.” Although Homecoming incorporated times of old at MHS, it also brought it new traditions that Tribe hopes will continue with Homecoming. One such tradition was the class chant, which MHS hadn’t done in nearly 20 years according to Tribe sponsor Haliegh Carlson. However, the chant never took off due to the untimely duration of Safety Week.
“We tried to make happen this year, but then the lockdown through off our plans,” Carlson said. “In the winter, we’ll do class chants.” Along with the challenge of Safety Week, Tribe had to battle the obstacle of decorating for the dance, which they considered to be the most difficult. “Decorating for the dance is probably the hardest because so much goes into something that is up for like two hours,” Carlson said. “We spend our time on it and it looks really nice.” Despite the setbacks, Homecoming proved colorful and eventful, adding to student life in ways Tribe is more than proud of. “We wanted to get people excited for it, excited to dance,” Schartz said. “We just wanted to do something super fun.” See more about Homecoming on Pages 4 and 5
Seniors Kira Shartz and Will Bannister pose for a photo after being crowned Homecoming King and Queen at the Friday football game. Photo by Andrew Adams
Sept. 24 2019 Visit MHSMentor.com
OPINIONS
Volume 107 Issue 4
Page 2
Students need to take drills more seriously 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
EDITORIAL POLL:
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here have been more than just safety drills for students at Manhattan High this year. The school has had three secure campuses, one quasi-lockdown and two evacuations due to a suspected fire this year. Along with that, MHS has also had a shooting in its parking lot outside of school hours. Concerning, especially as it’s only September. One would think it safe to assume students would take drills seriously after recent events. This has proved not to be the case. During the evacuation due to fire on Thursday students were milling around, playing the radio out of their trucks and writing expletives into the dust on cars. During the pseudo-lockdown earlier in the month, students played on their phones, talked and there were reports of students purposely yelling in the hallways. It is the opinion of The Mentor editorial board that such consistent drilling, as on Safety Week, desensitizes students to the real danger and violence drills are trying to prevent, resulting in them not taking drills seriously. Students not taking drills seriously is dangerous during fires and severe weather, but during lockdowns it could be fatal. Why would students not follow directions in such serious situations? The simple answer we
don’t think it’s that big of a deal. We have been participating in lockdown drills with a similar frequency to fire drills since we were somewhere between the ages of six and 10. We were in the second through fifth grades when Sandy Hook happened; Parkland was just two years ago. We’ve grown up with an awareness, an expectation, of active shooters in the place where we’re supposed to be safe. This is our generation’s realty. We don’t stop and think what a twisted, macabre moment we are in when administration comes over the intercom and says we’re in a lockdown situation. We don’t think to ourselves “Why am I pretending to hide in the
corner of my dark, deathly silent classroom when I’m supposed to be learning?” We just do it, automatically, numb to the depth of the situation. We don’t think twice when our teacher asks the class what the best weapons would be to defend ourselves. Instead, students in shop class pick up wrenches, students in English classes pick up chairs. When we go to our classes on the first day, our teachers tell us: “There’s the nearest exit, if you can run that way do so. If we can’t run we will hide in that corner, or in this closet, or behind that shelf. If I get shot leave me, save yourselves.” Some teachers keep the doors to their classrooms locked on an ev-
eryday basis in the hope it will keep us safer. This is our normal -- we’re numb. It’s the same as a fire drill. It’s wrong. It’s a sick, twisted concept. But what are we supposed to do? Just not prepare? This applies to students attitude towards other safety drills. While these are completely unpreventable, because students response is automatic, drilled into us, either we don’t comprehend or we chose not to think about the implications of our actions. In a way, mundaneness of drills could be considered a success. The point of drills is to make safety precautions automatic. But having students automatically know what to do takes the urgency out of the situation, this isn’t limited to lockdowns. The school could do a better job of telling students when it’s a drill and when the situation is real (as done Thursday). It’s unlikely students will follow directions if they assume it’s a drill. The school also could better explain why drills are important, and emphasise that if students aren’t being responsible they put not only themselves but others at risk. There’s also a responsibility on students to face the situation drills are emulating and act as serious as the situation is. Students should stop and think about the reality of lockdowns, stop this being our normal, and act like the near-adults we are in order to protect ourselves and our classmates. Whether it’s a fire, severe weather, secure campus or lockdown.
Global climate strike worthy of attention
Story by Kyla Barnett Features Editor
The first of multiple climate strikes in over 150 countries began on Friday during the week-long Global Climate Strike. Students from all over the world left class to march for the climate three days before a UN emergency climate summit was held in New York. With all of the action around the
globe, where is ours? Manhattan High School has tried to make changes to help our Earth, but we could be doing a lot more. Manhattan High School has quite a few groups who concern themselves with the well-being of the Earth but there was no information or publicity on this strike throughout the school. The school has put recycling bins almost everywhere you look, but plenty of recyclables still end up in the trash. Simple swaps are being bypassed by the students and staff in favor of easier options. Every day thousands of students in our school and the surrounding school district eat off of styrofoam trays for lunch, when regular lunch trays would save the Earth and the district’s pocket. This leads to thousands of pounds of waste
Student-led conferences don’t work
Story by Andrew Davis Staff Photographer
The student-led conferences are not effective, as in the topics discussed in the conference do not come up outside the room and what is spoken in the conference, stays in the conference. They are not worth the time given in preparation for them. We have student-led conferences so that students, parents and teachers can discuss the current status of their student’s academic progress and talk about future goals. Although this seems like a good idea, nobody seems to like it. I understand the concept and why it is theoretically a good idea but it simply is inconvenient and doesn’t work. All we do as students in conferences is talk about our grades and how we are going to fix them or do better. It’s awkward for everybody in the room. Students talking about their grades doesn’t solve any problems for anybody. If the student actually cares about school, he or she would already know what their grades are and they would take the initiative to fix or better them. If the parent cares Meredith Comas -- Print Editor-in-Chief Sophia Comas -- Online Editor-in-Chief Anika Nyp -- Blue M Editor-in-Chief Kris Long -- Opinions Editor Julianna Poe -- Sports Editor Kyla Barnett -- Features Editor Brianna Carmack -- Entertainment Editor Hannah Heger -- Trending Editor Joshua Flickinger -- Photo Editor Jennifer Sadler -- Assistant Photo Editor
about their child’s grades, they would discuss with them personally what to do about their grades or what they are going to do after high school, instead of in front of an advisor that the parents don’t even know. Students whose parents take the time and to come to conferences already talk to their children about academics, meaning this type of conference wastes time. A more effective experience would be to just let the parents and students talk with one another at home alone, instead of having only 10 minutes at school. There aren’t any conversations being had about anything else. I don’t think that they take into account our outside-of-school schedules. It’s also a lot more work for everyone involved with no real outcome. A more effective use of time might be to just let parents and students work things out in private, then have a day where the advisor and student take a minute or two and talk about his or her grades and plan for the future individually. If we switch back to traditional conferences, the teacher and parent would have more one- one-time to talk with each individual teacher, rather than the 10 minutes they have with the students advisor, which may or may not be one of their actual teachers. We should not have the student-led conferences because it is a waste of time and energy and it has no real effect on the success of our students. Cole Schmitt -- Social Media Manager Rachel Edie -- Business Manager Staff Writers and Photographers -- Andrew Adams, Paris Burgess, Andrew Davis, Jeremy Emberton, Sammara Jacobs-Brown, Lauryn Maxwell, Gage Mingo, Madison Ritz, Katya Tarabrina Video Production -- Mbofho Ndou, Gabe Jernigan, Declan Weixelman, Gavin Gaston, Kevin Breedan, Giuseppe Maioranna,
headed directly to the landfill each year after no more than 30 minutes of use. We are also forced to buy a planner when we enroll for school, which gets thrown away almost immediately by many students, wasting paper and plastic for no good reason. We mindlessly kill the earth with next to no regard to how it’s affecting us. Participating in the climate strike would have been a great way to raise awareness within our school and community and show that we care about the Earth. Most of us do care, but we just feel helpless and say “Well, there’s nothing I can do about it.” But we can. We might not be able to physically do much, but if we speak out and show adults and government officials that something needs to change, we can start to move in the right direction.
Organizing climate strikes and park clean-ups doesn’t need to be difficult and you don’t need to be an adult to do it. Teens started this climate strike and we can continue what they started. If we push for this, we can get it done. There just needs to be action, because there will always be adults in this school who care just as much about this as we do. We need to utilize their support and get stuff done. With our Westboro counter-protest last year we proved that we can raise our voices together for a change for the better and it’s time to do that again. There are over 1,800 students at MHS. That’s 1,800 voices and 1,800 people who could make a difference. We have to ability to do some good, so let’s do it. Let’s be active. Let’s be better.
Government secrets create conspiracy
Story by Gage Mingo Staff Writer
Area 51 is an air base that is used for classified government projects that many associate with aliens and conspiracy theories. The association comes from the government rarely releasing new information about activity there. Because of this, on Friday there were protest at the base gates. The base has been associated with extraterrestrial life since 1947, starting with a tin weather balloon crashing and rumors spread by a supposed employee at Area 51. The Air Force at the time would just explain it as airdrop practice, making the people believe they were covering something up. As time went on, the rumors spread and to some it sounded more like truth then fiction. This is a big universe -- there can’t just be us, right? People started to believe that the base hid UFOs and other mythical, or fictional objects and so on 2013, the government final officially Tristan McLaughlin, Grace Wilson 21st Century Journalism -- Ashlyn Cassel, Mckayla Clarksnodgrass, Alexus Forsythe, Emmarae Hayes, Lasirra Hines, Hannah Loub, Marley Blue Neel, William Robben, Taryn Robinson, Aubrey Strother, Aspen Tallent, Adam Wollenberg Kristy Nyp -- Advisor
acknowledged that Area 51 existed. They were forced to legally state the purpose and release some information to prove this. They gave out information about how the U2 was made there, and explain the early sightings of UFOs there where just U2 long wings reflecting the sun. But this didn’t stop the want for answers. Conspiracy theories could be avoided by having the government be more transparent about the research of airdrops and the airplane testing, at the base without having to give too much information. What could help is to let people into the base and open it up -- to a certain degree -- to media and public, instead of allowing continual speculation. This could lessen the amount of rumors and help with the people’s trust in the government. Government of the people means the people need the government to be transparent. Government is there for the people not the other way around. If we the people want an answer to a question and the government is holding that answer, they should give to us. The people of the United States of America deserve an answer to what happens at Area 51 and proof of that answer, not some politician’s words. Secrets should only deemed necessary to keep from the public when it is something that doesn’t affect the country as a whole.
The Mentor is published each Tuesday that school is in session at Manhattan High School, 2100 Poyntz Ave. Manhattan, Kansas. Telephone (785) 587-2114. More than 1,000 Mentors are distributed each week free of charge to all faculty and students. MHS journalists are members of the Kansas Scholastic Press Association and National Scholastic Press Association. The Mentor is a public forum. E-mail us at mhsmentor@gmail.com.
SPORTS
Sept. 24, 2019 Visit MHSMentor.com
Volume 107 Issue 4
Page 3
Girls golf places fourth Story by Hannah Heger Trending Editor
Journeying to the Salina South Invitational, the Manhattan High golf team ended their winning streak by finishing in fourth place as a team, eight strokes away from first. “I like the fact that most of them were a little disappointed in how they played,” Paige McCarthy, head coach, said. “That shows me that they’re really setting
their standard pretty high.” With the lower placing the team sees where they need improvement and how it affected their recent tournament. “I’m working on my putting,” Andi Seibert, sophomore, said, “and if I would have been putting my best, then the round would have been one of my best rounds.” But the team hasn’t accepted defeat just yet, See more on Page 4
Cross Country loses streak Story by Sophia Comas Online Editor-in-Chief
The Indians line up to hike the ball back to the quarterback. Manhattan won 56-24 against Topeka High in the homecoming game on Friday night.
Photo by Andrew Adams
Football dominates
Manhattan Indians secure win in second half
Story by Cole Schmitt Social Media Manager
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hanks to a strong second half from the Indians, the Manhattan High Varsity football team (2-1) defeated the Seaman Vikings 56-24 for the annual Homecoming game last Friday night. There were stars on and off the field during the night, creating winning results from both players and coaches. “The defense hung in there all night long,” head coach Joe Schartz said. “[Defensive Coordinator Adam O’Neil] finally got through to the kids that just because they’re getting first downs, don’t hang your head, just keep battling and keep battling.” According to Schartz, O’Neil helped in preventing
After a first-half interception, junior quarterback Dayne Aschenbrenner had a rushing and passing touchdown in the second half to help Manhattan secure a huge win and their goal of boucning back from their loss against Topeka High the previous Friday. However, according to Schartz, there is always room for improvement. “We just got to be more disciplined,” Schartz said. “We got to address that in practice. You’re going to get penalties from time to time because you’re playing hard.” The Indians will return home this Friday night to face off with Washburn Rural. Washburn has lost all three games they have played in this year and the Indians will look to make that four.
“We’re kind of a victim of our own success.” -- Joe Schartz mistakes by dividing up their time on the field. During the first half, Seaman was continuously getting first down after first down and put 24 points on the board in the first half. The Indians were tied up in the first quarter at 14 points and in the second quarter, Seaman gained a lead by four points. But at halftime, that changed, as O’Neil and the defense held the Vikings to zero points while the Indian offense produced 28 to Seaman’s 24. “We got to play with energy and passion,” Schartz said. “We’re kind of a victim of our own success. Over the years, these kids expect to go out and play dominant football, and we’re just not there yet as a football team.”
While the Manhattan High cross country team has felt their beginning successes, they have also felt their losses, placing seventh at the Missouri Southern Stampede between both boys and girls Varsity. Unlike the first two meets where all divisions secured first-place finishes, the weekend proved a challenge as the Joplin terrain caused
more competition due to the wide range of schools in attendance. According to senior Ella Rosenkranz, the size of the meet allowed for a faster course. “I think the meet went well,” Rosenkranz said. “Everyone fought hard and a lot of people got personal records, either for the season or for all time.” See more at MHSMentor.com
J.V. volleyball snags second Story by William Robben Staff Writer
The Manhattan High Junior Varsity volleyball team faced off in the Manhattan High Volleyball Round Robin tournament in which they placed second. The first match that the Indians had played was against Lawrence Free State. During the first set, the Indians found themselves trailing 10-4. The Indians were trying to gain mo-
mentum and eventually found themselves rallying to tie the set 10-10. “We started slow, but we were constantly saying ‘we got to get out of this, we got to get out of this’, and we pushed ourselves to gain the momentum and we were really talkative once we had that momentum and I think that is what shut them down,” Kylie Corneliusen, J.V. coach, said. See more on Page 4
Boys Soccer beats Great Bend Story by Kris Long Opinions Editor
Coach Joe Shartz talks to his players inbetween plays at the Homecoming football game against the Seaman Vikings Friday night. Shartz helped MHS end the night with a 32 point difference against Seaman with a close first quater that held the crowd on the edge of thier seats. Photo by Meredith Comas
Athlete of the week Andi Siebert
Junior; Girls Golf • Placed sixth at 18 hole tournament with score of 81 Stock Photo by Madison Ritz
Manhattan took the win against Great Bend High 2-1 in extra time after going down 1-0 in the first half of the match away Thursday afternoon. While MHS usually beats Bend, the team was stronger this year than in previous years. “It was probably one of the best Great Bend teams I’ve played,” senior Hunter French said. Despite former suc-
Q: When did you start playing golf? A: “My parents have always had me swinging the golf club and playing with them as soon as I could walk, but I wasn’t very dedicated to it until freshman year.” Q: How did it feel to place sixth at the Salina South Invitational? A: “It definitely doesn’t sound the best to get sixth, but that was the best I’ve done this season so it feels good and I know that I can do even better in the tournaments coming.” Q: What goals do you have for this
cess, MHS came into the game expecting it to be one of the more challenging games of the season. The Manhattan team being younger this year and Great Bend having 15 seniors on their roster made the game more competitive than previously. “I was expecting a challenge … because in the summer we only beat them 1-0,” junior Cole Schmitt said. “I expected us to win, but it was a good game.” See more at MHSMentor.com
golf season? A: “My goal for this season is to consistently shoot in the low 80s and to hopefully beat my best from last year.” Q: How do you plan on going about achieving that goal? A: “To work hard in practice and do the drills that coach gives us.” Q: What’s your favorite golf drill? A: “I like doing ... three foot putts ... because those are ... the easiest to miss in pressure situations so it is good to practice those.”
Girls tennis takes first, second at first home quad Story by Madison Ritz Blue M Student Life Editor
Girls Varsity tennis spent their afternoon playing at their first home game at City Park’s tennis courts last Tuesday, winning first place while playing against Washburn Rural, Marysville and Junction City. Freshman Jill Harkin played one singles, junior Kayla Lei played two singles, with their teammates senior Joanna Park and sophomore Hannah Loub played one doubles as doubles partners and senior Kate McGee and freshman Maura Wiens played one doubles. “During this meet, my partner and I
have gotten the groove of things,” Park said. “I personally think I’m doing better.” From last Tuesday’s meet, Harkin placed first (3-0), Lei placed first (30), Park and Loub placed second (2-1) and McGee and Wiens placed first (3-0). With their success in the past few games, Varsity tennis placed first in the game overall. Manhattan placed first (11-1), Washburn Rural placed second (9-3), Marysville placed third (3-9) and Junction City placed fourth (1-11). Varsity tennis played yesterday as well for their second and last home meet, competing against Shawnee
Mission East, Junction City and Shaw-
nee Mission South at 3 p.m. From yesterday’s meet, Harkin played one singles placing first, Lei played two singles placing first, Park and Loub played one doubles placing second, and McGee and Wiens played one doubles placing third. Varsity tennis once again won first place, with (9-3), SMS placed second (8-4), SME placed third (7-5) and JC placed fourth (0-12). The girls will play again today at the Washburn Rural Photo by Jennifer Sadler Quad.
Sept. 24, 2019 Visit MHSMentor.com
FEATURES
Volume 107 Issue 4
Page 4
PowderPuff beneficial for relationships, memories Brianna Carmack Entertainment Editor
With a score of 12-6, the sophomore and senior PowderPuff football team won once again, since claiming their second victory in a row. As a part of the long standing tradition at Manhattan High, the two teams -- female students divided up by sophomore-senior team (pink) and freshmen-junior team (blue) -- compete in a 40-minute football game, with one goal in mind: beating the opposing team. Senior running back and kicker Jordan Stegeman scored both touchdowns for the pink team, while junior quarterback Taylor Claussen scored the one touchdown for the blue team. “I was just so excited,” Stegeman said. “The last time I played in PowderPuff was sophomore year, so it was just a really big accomplishment to like score both of those touchdowns and just make an impact for my team.” The coaches on the pink team included math teachers Dedra Braxmeyer, Laura Sapp and Dayton Crist and also included help from experienced football players, such as junior Owen Braxmeyer and sophomore Noah Shotts. For the blue team, the coaches were Seth Alexander and Matthew Worley. “[Having different coaches] felt different, because we had different coaches last year with different plays,” sophomore center and defensive end Bentley Murrell said. “I kind of remember the plays from last year as a freshman, so it was good to get some more plays in because it was kind of different from what they did.” With the help of some fellow students, the girls managed to learn new drills and plays to help them win against the other team, including pulling flags, snapping the football and basic drills, such as running offense or defense. “We worked on plays a lot -- more offense than defense for sure,” Owen Braxmeyer said. “Defense is kind of self-explanatory, but offense, you have to learn plays. Just drawing them up and telling them where to go, how to snap the ball. Snapping the ball was a struggle cause snapping things can all go wrong with that.”
Junior Jaiden Weixelman barely misses getting one of her flags taken while running down the field during the PowderPuff Football game Wednesday evening. Photo by Joshua Flickinger
Not only did the girls have fun, but even the coaches enjoyed this experience as well. “It was really fun. I really enjoyed having the girls around and having them play football, because most of them haven’t played football,” Owen Braxmeyer said. “Or some of them have played other sports and they just want to try it out. So, it’s fun getting to know them and how they function and what their attitude is.” While some girls are competitive, some just enjoy participating to gain relationships with their fellow peers. “It’s good to make some new friends because you get to meet a lot of new people that you don’t get to see everyday,” Murrell said. Even though the blue team didn’t take home the win, according to players, this experience was a great moment in which they built relationships with some of their peers and participated in a memorable
high school experience. “Overall, the whole experience was really fun. It’s meant to bring you closer together with your classmates,” junior Jaiden Weixelman said. “There’s that competitiveness that you want to win really bad and you want to beat the seniors, but at the end of the day, it’s cool to be able to make those connections with the freshman as juniors and just give them hope for the rest of the year.” Participating in PowderPuff is highly recommended by the players this year. There is always a chance of building long lasting relationships outside of high school and remembering those moments of how those relationships were made. “I felt that it was a good experience,” Stegeman said. “I got to meet a lot of new girls and make new relationships with them and just have a fun time doing it and getting to experience it.”
Question of the week What do you think the most important safety drill is this week? • “Lock down: the most likely to happen and also the least likely to be taken seriously.” Senior Madi Perkins. • “Lock down cause of how much hese things happen now a days.” Senior Hannah Hoyle. • “The real fire.” Junior Amir Eshar.
The MHS dance team pose after their wowing performance at the fall pep rally. The dance team has also made appearances at the homecoming football game that occured on the same day. Photo by Bri Carmack
Juniors pursue their passion
Dance team performs at pep rally
Brianna Carmack Entertainment Editor
Story by Anika Nyp Blue M Editor-in-Chief
After becoming inspired by watching YouTuber Casey Neistat through his drone in aerial photography and videography, juniors Lane Religa and Sean Anderson began their work of aerial shots last summer through their youtube channel and Instagram account “ksaerials.” After getting a license to fly their drones, the two created “ksaerials,” specifically made to show off their aerial shots and photography. Aerial photography and videography is essentially a different form of photography and videography from an aerial perspective. In order to capture these shots, Religa and Anderson use a drone and fly it around different cityscapes, nature sites, etc. Their most recent project occurred over the summer when they took the drone out for a flight at different football stadiums across the nation, capturing different angles of the stadium and field. The idea of creating an account and YouTube channel all began when Religa and Anderson had a class together in which they were able to grow closer as friends, eventually leading to business partners. Typically, an aerial shot usually takes around 30 minutes to capture and a few hours more that include importing the clips, editing and
Hearing the cheers from the crowd in the Manhattan High School gym bleachers, the MHS dance team took the court and waited for the silence. The music came on and the pressure was on. Not only was their Assistant Coach, Ashton Davis, filming them but all of the girls’ peers’ eyes were on them. This was the first time the Dance Team had performed this year and not only that but they learned their dance in only one day. “We learned it because it was a guest choreographer, was one of the [Kansas State University] Classy Cats,” junior Gabrielle Howard said. “She came and taught it to us during dance camp. So we learned it all in a day.” The girls spent the time from their dance camp in the summer to the pep-rally cleaning their hip hop dance when also making time for their Festival choreography and all of their band dances that they perform for the football crowds. From Volleyball on Page 3
The first set was a back-and-forth battle that the Indians eventually won. At the beginning of the second set, the Indians were hoping to come out of the gate strong, yet just like the first set, they found themselves trailing. A little while into the set the Indians started to feel more comfortable. Their communication was better and stronger,
“We just drilled down and cleaned the dance multiple times and so it was pretty much perfect,” junior Haylee Davis said. Not only were they learning all of these dance moves but some of the girls were completely new to the team. “It was a little stressful because we have festival coming up. And we were juggling a bunch of things. But it was really fun overall,” Howard said. “They get along pretty well. They’ve, they’ve learned really fast to compared to me when it was my sophomore year,” junior Nataly Hill said. “Like when they comes to them teaching a dance, she went pretty fast and those girls, they know what they’re doing.” Not only was the dance team nervous but also very excited to be out on the court showing everyone what they could do. “We really loved sharing it with people and our hearts were all racing, because we really love the choreography,” Howard said. “We’ve been practicing for so long. And we’re just so excited to show everybody.”
which was a key factor to them winning the second set and eventually winning the match. The second match that the Indians played was against Saint Thomas Aquinas. The match was close and there was never a dull moment. “I think we need to be a little more aggressive,” Claire Shamburg, sophomore said. After a tough set, Saint Thomas Aquinas won and delivered the
Indians their first lost set of the day. The second set of the match was just like the rest. “We started out slow but we came back,” Hayley Hastings, sophomore, said. The team’s next games will be played against Seamen and Washburn Rural at Washburn Rural on Wednesday.
From Golf on Page 3
instead it’s an opportunity to work together and improve as a whole under the leadership of their team captains. “I think as the captain, it’s our job to just
uploading. Although going out to different sites and capturing aerial photography can be time-consuming, Religa and Anderson have kept it going do to the positive feedback the two have earned. “It’s just kind of like everybody else’s reaction to this [their aerial shots],” Anderson said. “Everybody thinks they’re really cool, so this kind of just keeps me going and makes me want to make more things that people can be so amazed by.” Not only did Religa and Anderson want to show off their aerial shots, but they also found out some business aspects that intrigued both of them, making creating an account dedicated to something they are passionate about a great fit. “I always wanted to own my own company because you can sign up kind of choose when you want to work,” Anderson said. “Normally, they make pretty good money. And then I’ve just been pretty interested in aerial photography.” Religa and Anderson hope to continue pursuing this passion that they both have. Eventually, they hope to make profit off of “ksaerials” and possibly start selling stuff. “We are trying to get our name out there and kind of like brand ourselves before we start selling products,” Anderson said.
keep the standard high, keep the standard there, and push everyone else to drop scores and get [person records] as well as myself,” Kami Bussmann, senior, said. With the team pushing perform their best at
their next tournament at Wamego on Wednesday, the team plans to be practicing their hardest. “We just need to figure out how to get ... into game mode, or into tournament mode,” McCarthy said.
Sept. 24, 2019 Visit MHSMentor.com
ENTERTAINMENT
Volume 107 Issue 4
Page 5
MHS Big Blue Marching Band performs during halftime at the homecoming game. Photo by Andrew Adams
Marching band performs at Homecoming halftime Story by Rachel Edie Business Manager
T
he student section in Bishop Stadium is eerily quiet. Typically, kids are shouting along to the cheers, but not now. Now, student after student rests their aching feet and all sit down. The sea of red, white and blue outfits is still. On the football field, players are not chasing each other amid tackles and throws. The anticipation in the air has nothing to do with the game. Instead, everyone silently waits for the mass of instruments to occupy the turf. Everyone waits for the Big Blue Marching Band to begin their half-time performance. “It’s super-hype and exciting,” Tanner McIntosh, sophomore, said. “[It] really gets your blood pumping and ready to watch an awesome football game.” The band divided itself perfectly into 18 columns, separating with the percussionists in the back and giving enough space for an aisle where members of the Homecoming court paraded through. The drum majors were front and center, with senior Jayna Schwartz standing tall on the primary platform.
ARTIST OF THE WEEK
“A lot of my social anxieties and inhibitions go away when I’m in that uniform,” Schwartz said. “I know I’ve worked for that position, so it’s rather triumphant.” During the crowning, the band remained still but they were quick to lift their instruments to play Manhattan High’s fight song -- “Indian Boy.” Before their half-time performance, the band was able to practice at last Friday’s pep rally where they played the setlist for most of their sporting events. They practiced SPITS in particular, which is what they call “Songs Played in the Stands.” In addition to the pep rally, the marching band practiced pieces and formation techniques over the summer along with rehearsals every day in class. These extra practices had their advantage when they finally played in front of their first live football audience. “Obviously it can be a nerve-racking position at times but I’ve really, really enjoyed conducting so far,” Schwartz said. “It’s such an exhilarating feeling.”
‘Downton’ movie witty, slightly disappointing
Story by Katya Tarabrina Blue M Organizations Editor
Story by Rachel Edie Business Manager
Sonda Copeland
Medium Composition • Has been teaching art to students for over 30 years Q: How long have you been a teacher at MHS? A: “I’m not sure, I think it’s something like 25 years… maybe 24. I’ve been in the district for 29 years, I taught at some other schools first.” Q: What is your favorite part about doing art? A: “I can’t choose, I did minors and majors in college I had so many that I liked. Ceramic was my major. I love stained glass, I paint, I do jewelry, those main ones.” Q: What are you trying to express with your art? A: “Usually what’s important to me in my personal life. Some places I’ve been, some people I like to spend time with.”
Juniors Colin Hohenbary and Mia Thompson are announced as nominees during halftime of the homecoming football game as they dance the “Macarana” last Friday night. Photo by Andrew Adams
“Downton,” of course, featured the usual wit of actors such as Maggie Smith and the dramatic romances of characters such as Lady Mary Crawley (Michelle Dockery) that were last seen in the final season of the TV show. However, the usual grit of such characters like Mary seemed to have been left in season six, as she seemed to play a background role for most of the movie as a frantic woman suddenly in charge, until almost abruptly it is revealed that the main resolution of
The beginning notes of John Lunn’s “The Suite” begins to fill the theater as it’s E to A piano notes surround the popcorn-stained seats. Something begins to feel different -- timeless. Like an old story once forgotten, begun again. The opening scenes come on screen and there it is, standing gloriously in it’s golden, sunlit profile-shot: Downton Abbey, returned to the spotlight. “Downton Abbey” returned to the entertainment universe this weekend, except this time, it made its debut on the big screen with a two-hour Photo by Sammara film that featured the same cast and English countryside set viewers of the Masterpiece Classic series knew and loved. The movie, titled under the same as the beloved show, has already garnered much attention from its release. Within two days of its release, the movie has already made an estimated Photo courtesy Focusfeatures.com $31 million in ticket sales. I have no shame in admitting I was the film was the relationship between one of the many who bought my ticket Mary and her grandmother (Smith), for the movie in advance and relished as well as their upkeep of the Crawley in every comical plot twist “Downton” family and Downton itself. almost always seems to provide. However, even new viewers The movie truly felt as if it were couldn’t help but smile at the reunion an extension of season eight, as the of actors Smith and Imelda Staunton film begins the royal plot right off just -- who played Lady Bagshaw -- once like any other episode. For returning again portraying enemies. The last fans and viewers, this was relatively time we saw these two on-screen unfazing, it was just like picking up a together was in “Harry Potter and the chapter where we left off. However, for Order of the Phoenix” as Professor new viewers, this could be confusing. McGonagall and Dolores Umbridge.
The banter written for the actresses was much more mild for “Downton” than in “Harry Potter,” but was never short of the wit that seems to follow them around. Much more positive, however, was the innocent mischief and troubles of Downton’s downstairs -- the staff and workers of the home. Re-experiencing the trifles of the Bates family, along with staple characters Mrs. Pattmore (Leslie Nicol) and Daisy (Sophie McShera) was a breath of fresh, English air. Throughout the film, every character received attention and their own dramatic, mini-plotted adventure. The playfulness and unraveling of each ironic scenario-we-saw-coming truly brought a smile to my face. The only negative I can find is that, at times, it seemed the producers were so eager to conclude a character’s plotline or give the audience a firm resolution that some endings seemed rushed or forced in the process. Had this been a mini-series, or part of a special reunion series, there may have been more of a chance to properly explore these different stories and outcomes. This didn’t stop me from cheering at each happy ending, though. Despite any of these grievances, “Downton” once again amazed me at the power of a period piece to so gracefully respond to modern-day issues -- such as LBGTQ rights -- and its overall ability to retain a method of storytelling appealing to so many across generational lines. I have no doubts that “Downton” will regain a following of the Masterpiece series after this movie and once again stand tall in the industry. In the words of Mr. Carson (Jim Carter), “A hundred years from now Downton will still be standing… that is a promise.”
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Volume 107 Issue #
Safety Week Page 6
Realities of a high school SRO Inside Sonia Gregoire’s day-to-day in Manhattan High School Story by Hannah Heger Trending Editor
W
alking the halls, many students will see Sonia Gregoire, Manhattan High School’s Student Resource Officer, patrolling around the school to check for students skipping class. But many students don’t know just how much experience with kids and teenagers Gregoire has. “I’ve always been really involved with kids and young adults… so it’s kind of a natural transition to move into being an SRO,” Gregoire said. “When I
“I talk about my kids, because I consider everybody here as part of my family,” -- Sonia Gregoire was in investigations, I was in charge of investigating child abuse, child sex cases, anything that had to involve children. I have also gone to basic and advanced SRO school.” With all the experience Gregoire has with serious cases involving children, she wants the students of MHS to know that she is always available for any problem no matter how serious or how silly it seems. “People know I’m out and about, some people don’t know where the SRO offices are, so it’s easier for them just to find me in the hallway,” Gregoire said. “We can pass them anywhere from a crime related event, to anything to do with just drama, teen drama, to issues at home.”
Senior Hannah Heger, Trending page editor, interviews Sonia Gregoire about what it takes to become a School Resource Officer, from training to previous experiences of working with children and young adults. Photo by Sammara Jacobs
Assisting in school drills or any situation with the school is another aspect of the job of an SRO, from lockdowns to fires in the school. Gregoire needs to be prepared to react to any situation and protect the students of MHS. “That’s why we do these drills over and over again,” Gregoire said. “It might seem silly that we do them all the time. But you know what you’re going to do every single time this drill happens. This will become second nature, just like what we’re doing at training. And we do the same training over and over
The real deal about fires and how to respond Story by Hannah Heger Trending Editor
We have all been told stories and given advice about what to do in case of a fire from the time we were young. But most of the time when there is a fire, our first reaction is to freak out and run away from the fire. Without thinking, some people run back inside the fire to grab either pets, important documents or any sort of personal property, but that’s causing more harm than good. “The big thing is making sure that people understand that young people have blocks of things that are plastic, rayon and made of different materials than back when I was really young,” Pat Collins, Riley County Fire Chief, said. “What we’re seeing right now is the is the fires of today burn three times faster than the time back when I was that age.” Different types of fires also contribute to how the situation is handled. “It’s a lot more important for people when they have a fire, whether it’s car fire, house fire anything like that, to try to get out of there as quickly as they can,” Collins said. “[They should] protect themselves and then don’t breath that smoke.” Collins advice in any situation that involves a fire is to get out as fast as possible when you see any smoke whether you see the fire or not, because
there are a few key ingredients to a fire. “You have to have some kind of fuel and you have to have heat and you have to have oxygen,” Collins said. “If you have one of those or all three of those things, a lot of times you have a fire.” Collins uses this theory to put out fires. They first try to eliminate the heat, fuel or oxygen to extinguish them. Having a predetermined plan of escape and having an idea of where to go instead of just staying outside the house can benefit you in the long run. “Plan before they have fire and plan where they’re going to go… so they can get out so they can get their animals out, so they get the family out, and they know where to meet,” Collins said. “There’s some big decisions to make even before the fire.” According to Collins, the fire isn’t the only thing to worry about. People need to be prepared to encounter all aspects of danger. “More people are killed by the smoke than the fire ever gets to,” Collins said. “A lot of times people will go out and they’ll try to come back in for a pet or for some piece of property that is replaceable.” Collins says the best way to avoid smoke inhalation is to stay as far away from the fire as possible. “Once you get out of a house, stay out, shut the door behind you, keep the fire contained,” Collins said. “If you can shut that oxygen off the fire may die some too.”
Safety Week’s importance at MHS Story by Lauryn Maxwell Staff Writer
Safety Week is an important week for students’ preparation in case they encounter a real situation. At Manhattan High students go through many drills for a week: Fire drills, Secure Campus, Lockdown and Tornado drill. Doing drills can be annoying, especially after missing a chunk of class time that forces students to rush through the subject to catch up with the other classes. However there is an importance to it. “It's important because everybody needs to know kind of the basic rules to keep yourself safe and to keep other people safe,” Captain Richard Fink from Riley County Police department said. “It's just a good reminder, regardless of how old you are or what you do. It's always good to have those refreshers.” Doing drills over and over again can
always help prepare for a real event. If there is ever a threat outside students won’t be in grave danger. “It's one of those things where you have to live a normal life. And it can't be worried about things happening. But in the same sense you know when you have an opportunity to attend things like this,” Fink said. “You know, it shouldn't and take in all the information that you can, you should be just fine.” In the long run doing this can help us. In case there is a real situation you know exactly where to go and what to do. And going through the drills many times can help save many lives because students know what to do and get to the spot immediately. “Well, it just fills knowledge of resources, you know, it's kind of like having a tool kit,” Fink said. See more on MHSMentor.com
again.” Protecting MHS comes before anything else for Gregoire. The students of MHS are the number one reason she helps everyday in any way she possibly can. “When I talk about the school, I talk about my kids, because I consider everybody here as part of my family,” Gregoire said. “To think anybody coming in here and hurting anybody that would break my heart.”
Protecting MHS: Safety works to improve protocol Story by Jeremy Emberton Staff Writer
Disasters happen all the time. From fires to lockdowns, they all wreak havoc. However, if Manhattan High happens to find itself in one of these, its safety team will be there to help. Trina Dibbini, the sophomore principal, is the person in charge of the safety team. As the leader of the safety team now, she has many things to do. “I organize all of our drills that we do and have protocols set in place,” she said. “Setting up how the communication between the district officials and the building officials... we have a system set up for communication.” One may think that
the safety team always knows when the disasters are drills or the real thing; however, for Safety Week, that isn’t the case. “For our Safety Week, I don’t know when the drills are happening so I just assume that it’s real until I get out there and find out that it’s put up by the district,” Dibbini said. “We really try to be as honest with it as possible, whether it’s a drill or not, so when the district comes in for our Safety Week, they act like it’s real.” More training and practice will help teachers make sure their class is prepared for the next disaster. See more on MHSMentor.com
Here to save the day: Manhattan Emergency services Story by Kyla Barnett Features Editor
From the very common flooding to the occasional tornado, the citizens of Manhattan have become very accustomed to crisis situations. Usually with little warning, citizens are left unprepared and scrambling to ready themselves. That is where the Manhattan Emergency Services -- which includes EMS, Fire Department and the Police Force -- come in. Their job is to respond to a number of situations, from natural disasters to medical emergencies and they put their lives on the line everyday even in a safe town like Manhattan. One big part of Manhattan Emergency Services is the Emergency Medical Services. This includes EMTs, Ad-
vanced EMTs and paramedics, who respond to many different emergencies like traumatic injuries, seizures, heart attacks and much more. They provide public education on things such as CPR and car seat installation. “We do a lot to help others,” EMS director David Adams said. During crisis situations, such as flooding, EMS works to identify the most vulnerable or at risk people, find a reliable shelter and help to relocate them. In these situations, it’s Adams’s job to find evacuation sites for citizens and their pets. In other situations, like tornados, EMS helps to treat the injured and protect the people, but they also put a lot of focus into helping others in the Manhattan Emergency Services. See more on Safety on MHSMentor.com