The mentor Vol. 102 Issue 13 | Manhattan High School | Dec. 16, 2014
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Spreading Holiday Cheer
IPS supports Adopt-a-Family during holiday season Danielle Cook Entertainment Editor In the spirit of the holiday season, members of Manhattan High’s interpersonal skills class -- both mentors and mentees -- learned about the importance of giving, not by reading about it in storybooks or watching fuzzy holiday movies about it, but by getting out and doing it themselves. See IPS page 3 for more
Applied Business Development class creates school store Madison Newman Senior Photographer A new business venture at Manhattan High is up and running. At the start of the school year, the Applied Business Development class pitched many ideas for a project to begin 2014. “Starting a school store was something they had consid-
ered last year and everyone in our class liked the idea,” senior Adam Hupp, president of Business Professional of America, said. “We’ve pretty much been working on it since the start of the semester.” The students have been working hard to make everything happen. “What’s taken the most time has been deciding what suppliers to use,” Hupp said.
As an individual, Hupp has taken a lot of time looking at different local and online businesses, comparing prices and services. “Besides that, it’s been random things like writing advertisements and figuring out the physical layout of the store,” Hupp said. “It feels like we started a new tradition, like pioneering,” senior Jack Cunningham,
BPA vice president, said. Cunningham has spent a lot of his time selling items and organizing what he can. “I basically walked around modeling our merchandise and stripped down to my normal clothes in the middle of the gym,” Cunningham said. Cunningham sold various items the night of the grand opening at the first home basketball game.
“It was pretty cool seeing all of the stuff with MHS merch,” Cunningham said. BPA plans on being open for the Friday home basketball games and may also be open for tournaments and events. They would like to be available during school at least once a week, but those are details that are being discussed. “It’s been an exciting process and we hope the store will
be around for long after we’ve graduated,” Hupp said. “I’d really like to give a special thanks to GTM and Mr. Hoyt for being such a big help with everything.” BPA students look forward to the store being open in the commons for the basketball game against JC Friday.
Club Feast a success among attendees Prom Theme choice receives mixed opinions Darian Foga-Frehn Staff Writer Last Wednesday, clubs around Manhattan High School attended the annual Student Council Club Feast. “[Club Feast] went pretty well,” StuCo sponsor Leslie Campbell said. “I would have liked more clubs to attend.” Clubs that attended the event included FFA, Earth Club, Thespians and Quill & Scroll. Corrinna Bishop, FFA
Global News Miranda Hairgrove Copy Editor Global news is a vital part of news today and can directly affect MHS students. In order to inform our readers, The Mentor has compiled small summaries describing some of the largest happenings in the world today. We encourage the reader to read about these topics, and others, in greater depth.
Superbugs predicted to kill more than cancer According to a report commissioned by British prime minister David Cameron, antibiotic-resistant
member, attended and enjoyed the event. “It was interesting,” Bishop said. “The tables were really cool. There was ‘the Lion King,’ ‘Tangled,’ ‘Up,’ ‘Frozen,’ and a few more. I think all of the tables were filled.” Although the atmosphere was nice, there is room for improvement for next year’s Club feast. “I think it would have been better if we played games,” Bishop said. “It went by really
fast. The whole thing was supposed to end at eight, but we ended up finishing at seven.” Campbell is pleased with how the event went. “I think it was fun for them to sit down and talk and do stuff with one another,” Campbell said. “The pressure on students today is so great, it’s nice for them to just have a good time.”
bacteria, commonly referred to as superbugs, are predicted to be implicated in more deaths than cancer by 2050. It is estimated that superbugs will cause 10 million deaths per year, which is greater than the 8.2 million attributed to cancer. The increase of superbugs will make procedures such as cesarean sections, joint replacements, and organ transplants extremely risky. Factors such as the widespread use of antibiotics and antimicrobial substances contribute to the development of superbugs. According to the BBC, “The analysis, presented by the economist Jim O’Neill, said the costs would spiral to $100 trillion… He was appointed by Prime Minister David Cameron in July to head a review of antimicrobial resistance.”
Senate publishes brutal interrogation report A report by the Senate Intelligence Committee states that the CIA had used means of interrogation not told to the American people after the 9/11 attacks. The statement further states that no useful information was collected through those means. The CIA, however, stated that the information obtained helped to save lives. According to the BBC, “the CIA also acknowledges mistakes in the programme, especially early on when it was unprepared for the scale of the operation to detain and interrogate prisoners.” The means used for interrogation included waterboarding, slapping, threats of harm,
Darian Foga-Frehn Staff Writer The halls of Manhattan High School are ringing with conversations about the 2015 Prom theme choices. Many students were in favor of the Alice in Wonderland or Arabian Nights themes. “I want the Arabian Nights theme to be picked,” junior Adelia Cruz-Bianchi said. “The color scheme would be
sleep deprivation and “stress positions”. A suspect from alQaeda was confined in a coffin-sized box for hours. UN human rights activists have condemned these actions as torture and call for the prosecution of the individuals involved in administering these interrogation techniques. The report also states that former president George W. Bush was uninformed of these techniques; however, according to the BBC, “speaking to Fox News, Dick Cheney [former vice-president of Bush] said Bush ‘knew everything he needed to know’ about the programme, and the report was ‘full of crap’.”
Hostage situation in Sydney cafe A hostage situation at a chocolate shop in Sydney, Aus-
really pretty and fun.” Junior Jazmyn Gaither is also in favor of the Arabian Nights theme. “I want Arabian Nights because of the mysteriousness of it,” Gaither said. “I am against the Oregon Trail theme. I feel that the way you dress should go with the theme, and nobody wants to wear an Oregon Trail-themed dress.” Alice in Wonderland won the most votes and will be the
2015 Prom theme. “Alice in Wonderland is the best theme,” junior Austin Grandpre said. “It’s been through the cycle multiple times. I love the cartoon-y feeling I get when I think of it.” Grandpre also dislikes the Oregon Trail theme. “It’s a weird theme. It doesn’t seem to relate to a prom theme,” Grandpre said. “It’s not formal. It would be better as a homecoming theme.”
tralia erupted 10 a.m. on Monday, Australia time. According to NPR, “hostages were seen at the window of the chocolate store holding up a black flag with the shahada, an Islamic creed declaring Allah as the true God.” The situation caused a citywide lockdown. Five hostages escaped before police stormed the building. According to The Guardian, “Several bursts of gunfire and loud bangs could be heard, and several people were seen being carried from the building, apparently injured. Some reports said a police officer had been hurt. Paramedics moved in and took away several injured people on stretchers.” The man behind the incident is Man Haron Monis. Monis is facing charges due to the incident and sexual assault.
Bomber attacks French school in Afghanistan A suspected suicide bomb attack took place during an event at a Frenchfunded school in Afghan capital, Kabul, on Thursday. The attack left one man dead and 16 others wounded. The event was a play condemning suicide bombing. According to Reuters, “the violence, part of a nationwide campaign by Islamist Taliban insurgents to strike at military and civilian targets, came less than three weeks before the year-end deadline for most foreign combat soldiers to withdraw from the country.”
Opinions
The Mentor • Dec. 16, 2014
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Stop ignoring middle class Prom themes eliminate choice THIS EDITORIAL IS A COMPILATION FROM A DISCUSSION HELD BY THE EDITORIAL BOARD. TO LISTEN TO THE CONVERSATION THAT LED TO THIS PIECE, VISIT WWW.MHSMENTOR.COM With the way scholarships are awarded for American universities we have created a gap. Kids who fall below the poverty line have their schooling basically paid for, kids who come from families that can afford to pay tens of thousands of dollars every semester are covered, and kids with athletic ability and kids who are a certain ethnicity are good, too. So, what about the middle
class ordinary white college student? Where do they fall? Somewhere between student loans, debt and emptying their parents bank accounts. Just because a family isn’t, by definition, poor does not mean they can afford to pay full price tuition to universities. The result is devastating. Too often you meet adults who have families of their own who are still paying off loans from college. We live in a society where it’s becoming impossible to be successful without a college degree yet we’ve made it nearly impossible to get by the rising cost of tuition and lack of available scholarships/ financial aid for middle class families. Because of these is-
sues it’s becoming very challenging, if not impossible, for these students to attend a four year university. While there are many problems in America that are complex and hard to find a solution to, this is not one. Tuition costs need to be lowered, more scholarships need to be available and these new scholarships need to be based on capability, not skin color or income. While it is necessary for the students coming from these backgrounds to receive some help, those coming from middle class families do as well. It’s time to stop overlooking the middle class.
You’re dancing, having a good time, but you gradually notice everyone is being told to leave. Then you get told that “You have died of yellow fever.” It is prom-over for you. That’s the Oregon trail prom theme that junior class Student Council has put on the ballots. Every year the junior class Student Council will put on a theme that is a joke or horrible theme. This year remains no different with the choices for the prom theme being Alice in Wonderland, Arabian Nights
and Oregon Trail. Whether it’s because they are unwilling to not have the one theme win or if it’s because they think it’s funny, it needs to stop. I have no personal problem with the first two choices. However, the ballot always shows one theme that is far better with music choice and all of the other elements to it. It becomes the one theme with a more desirable color scheme or song. This needs to stop. Either provide us with choices that are equally represented or do not tease us with “democracy.” It may be tradition that you let the school as a whole vote on a few themes. However it’s not voting on themes if the thought is rigged to have one far more desirable than the
others. The Oregon Trail theme is so ridiculous that the students who don’t care will vote for the most ridiculous theme. It happens every year that a ridiculous theme is in the runnings. Last year, when there was the choice of Industrial Revolution, it became a close vote between that and the eventual winner, the Gatsby theme. Not providing options that are equally desirable fails democracy, and instead promotes the equivalent of a dictatorship. It is plainly a waste of everyone’s time to vote on a theme when those in charge already know what they are doing for the theme without the vote happening.
Kansas in need of environmental regulation Kristen Batson Print Editor-in-Chief
So, the crazy environmentalists tell us to “recycle” and “care about our planet” and “love the trees” and everyone else just calls them hippies and continues sipping from their plastic water bottle that will, no doubt, be thrown in the trash, not recycling bin. Moving to Manhattan from Sacramento, Calif. one of the first things I asked when driving around was “where are their recycling bins?”. I continue to notice the lack of recycling and general concern for the environment here which, considering how close we are to so many farming communities, seems we should care a little more. According to sacbee.com 85 percent of Californians recycle in 2014 while kskor. org reports only 36 percent of Kansans do. You can argue that it’s because Kansas is more
conservative and California is more liberal, you could argue that people there just grow up caring about “being green” more than most places, but in the end none of that matters. It comes down to polluting the earth -- the only planet we know of that supports life, the only one we have. Greenwaste. com estimates that each person generates 1.5 tons of solid waste a year, 70 percent of which is recyclable, yet only 30 percent is recycled. California made a goal to have 75 percent of their population recycling and in their effort to do so they exceeded the goal by 10 percent. If the effort is made people will respond and we can better the planet that supports all life we know. By requiring every home in Kansas to have a recycling bin, we could drastically improve our environment and save resources. If they all had the means to recycle and were educated on the consequences of not, and benefits of an act that requires so little effort, we could make the planet a better place now and for years to come.
The amount of wood and paper thrown away each year is enough to heat 50,000,000 homes for 20 years
The U.S. generates 21.5 million tons of food residuals annual
Americans throw away 25,000,000 plastic beverage bottles every hour
Each ton of recycled paper can save: 17 thirty foot trees 380 gallons of oil 3.5 cubic yards of landfill 7,000 gallons of water 4100 kwh of energy
And eliminate 60 pounds of air pollutants Graphic by Marisa Lang AND TRACY LE Source: greenwaste.com
Make people aware of privilege, combat ignorance Nathan W. Pyle wrote an article telling a story of a high school teacher he once knew. The teacher set a recycling bin at the front of the room and gave each of the seated students a piece of paper to crumple up. “The game is simple — you all represent the country’s population,” the teacher told them. “And everyone in the country has a chance to become wealthy and move into the upper class. To move into the upper class, all you must do is throw your wadded-up paper into the bin while sitting in your seat.” The students immediately realized that those in the front
seats had a better chance and spoke up about the inequity and when everyone had taken their shots, most of those in the front made it but only a few in the back did. This is what privilege is. Those who complained about fairness were in the back of the room. Those in the front are much less likely to realize the privilege they have — all they see is the destination, the goal. “Your job — as students who are receiving an education — is to be aware of your privilege. And use this particular privilege called ‘education’ to do your best to achieve great things, all the while advocating for those in the rows behind you,” the teacher said. Privilege is the advantage some people have over others. It is the benefits some are granted while others are deprived of. It is a part of a system that aids some while hindering
and hurting others. Privilege means that while someone is complaining about being tired of all the news about Ferguson, Eric Garner, etc. on the news and on social media there are people truly terrified for their lives. People with privilege have the ability to ignore what is happening because the effect it has on their lives is nonexistent in comparison to how it is affecting the lives of other people. Generalizing white people, for example, has no real effect on them. Generalizing black people has killed them. For black people, murder by law enforcement is very, very real. The U.S. Department of Justice stated that from 2002 to 2011, the average homicide rate for blacks was 6.3 times higher than the rate for whites and there have been other studies that declare that every 28
hours, a black person is killed by police officers, security guards, or other self-appointed vigilantes. We live in a world that habitually criminalizes and kills black people. We live in a world that consistently cripples the unprivileged. I am utterly saddened, horrified and outraged by what happened and what is happening in Ferguson and all over the world. But I am not afraid for my life. I have never been questioned or followed in stores. I don’t have slurs thrown at me regularly. I do not live in fear of the police. I am privileged. I am not black. I do not experience the same persecution, discrimination, and brutality as do black people. I cannot understand what black people are going through right now, what they are forced to go through each and every day. I am not black. I am not a vic-
Question of the Week:
What is the lamest gift you’ve received?
“literally a dishrag,” Xavier Hayden, senior, @hayvah
“For my twelfth bday i received two goats and nothing else,” Noah Schnee, senior, @noahschnee
“An algebra CD,” Robyn Burton, junior, @redrobyn_ yuum
“A lint roller,” Anna Hegarty, junior, @anna_hegarty_
“A clementine and a package of Razzles in a gift bag labeled ‘To: Todd’ that I got from @flirtydad. The Razzles redeemed it,” Katrina Yau, senior, @yauski
“Go Diego Go DS game. I was 13,” Connor Bliss, senior, @connorblissful
What’s your New Year’s Resolution and how likely is it to happen? Tweet your answer @mhsmentoronline or answer at our website, mhsmentor.com for a chance to be featured in the next edition.
tim in this sense. I am a person of color, but I am privileged in many more ways than one. The University of San Francisco released a campaign, not too long ago, that included the following: “If while growing up, college was an expectation of you, not a lofty dream, you have class privilege. “If you can comfortably walk down the street while holding your partner’s hand, you have heterosexual privilege. “If you don’t have to worry about how to get up Lone Mountain, you have able-bodied privilege. “If you can expect time off from work to celebrate your religious holidays, you have Christian privilege. “If you can use public bathrooms without stares, fear or anxiety, you have cisgender privilege.
“If you’re confident that the police exist to protect you, you have white male privilege.” Privilege doesn’t mean someone is a bad person; it doesn’t mean that a person’s life is easy, or that they don’t work hard. It just means that that person benefits from a system that simultaneously refuses the same benefits to other people (whether that privilege be about race, gender, sexual identity, class, education, etc). Privilege, of all kinds, benefits a select few while simultaneously harming others and unfortunately, it goes by unseen by many people. We need to open our eyes. We need to genuinely listen to one another. We need to become aware of this privilege and we need to challenge it constantly.
Send your letters to the editor at mhsmentor@gmail.com EDITORS: Kristen Batson -- Print Editor-In-Chief/Opinions Joseph Sell -- Online Editor-In-Chief Danielle Cook -- Entertainment/Content Editor Madeline Marshall -- News Editor Alan Brown -- Features Editor Greg Woods -- Sports Editor Tracy Le -- Trending Editor Anna Hupp -- Photo Editor Marisa Lang -- Graphic Designer Miranda Hairgrove -- Copy Editor Senior Staff Writers/Photographers -- Madison Newman, John Rockey Staff Writers/Photographers -- Elassia Cunningham, Darian Foga-Frehn, LaKesha Johnson OTHER: Angie Moss -- Business Manager Kristy Nyp -- Adviser Circulation -- Kristyn Baker, David Clinkinbeard, Charlie Dickey, Karl Drown, Rachel Efken, Jordan Hatley, Colten Kirk, Joshua Kohls, Kendall Oatney, Megan Ritthisorn, Zane Smith, Darnel Stewart, Austin Tatum The Mentor is published each Tuesday that school is in session at Manhattan High School, 2100 Poyntz Ave. Manhattan, Kan. Telephone (785) 587-2114. More than 1,500 Mentors are printed each week and distributed free of charge to all faculty members and students. MHS journalists are members of the Kansas Scholastic Press Association. The Mentor is an open forum that accepts contributions from the public. E-mail us at mhsmentor@ gmail.com.
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The Mentor • Dec. 16, 2014
Features
The Gift Of Giving IPS buys, prepares gifts for the less fortunate
Left: Senior Madeline Wilson writes on the label of one of many gifts she collected for her IPS adoptive family. Bottom Right: Seniors Rachel Beach and Ben Broxterman wrap a present together. Top Right: Senior Connor Bliss and members of IPS prepare to wrap theri gifts. IPS took a trip to Wal-Mart to IPS from page 1 After conducting a fundraiser at Longhorn Steakhouse, IPS members divided money raised between groups of three of four of themselves, and later took a trip to the local Wal-Mart to purchase gifts for families involved in Adopt-a-Family, based on things that given families liked and needed. “The family my group bought for has a three-monthold, a three-year-old girl,
and a six-year-old boy, so for the baby, we got a high chair and other baby needs,” senior Ale Andrade said. “Then, we wrapped all the presents, and we will be delivering them this week. We’re also baking goodies for the families.” While this act by IPS benefits the families they “adopted” in obvious ways, IPS students were able to feel that a difference was made not only in the community, but in the way they, themselves, think and feel about the true focus of the
winter holiday season. “It benefited the families because they get what they need, and they can have an amazing and memorable Christmas. The way it benefits IPS is that it shows us the true meaning of Christmas,” Andrade said. “It’s better to do good for others. It just shows that doing good things for others makes you feel really good inside, and shows that there’s much more to Christmas than just to make your own Christmas list.”
purchase gifts for their adoptive families. PHOTO BY LAKESHA JOHNSON In general, IPS students are affected by the activities they do on a daily basis. According to senior Lexie Colston, supporting Adopt-a-Family these past couple of weeks has been a great experience, but just being a part of the IPS family at all is inspiring of acts and projects even bigger than what the group achieved this holiday season. “Before IPS, I wasn’t very interested in the community. Everything was fine the way it was. After IPS, I’m not happy
with how things are, and I want change,” Colston said. “I want to make Manhattan better, and IPS gave me that opportunity. Overall, it gave me the motivation to make a difference.” They say cold weather brings people together, and for IPS students, working with Adopt-a-Family to support families in the community knitted the group even tighter than it was before, according to Andrade. “I just loved the amazing
bonding we had. We were goofy, and we were all just smiling and laughing the entire time, and I mean, we always do that, but it’s just always nice to do that with IPS while helping others,” Andrade said. “I know everyone in the class pretty well, but this brought us even closer, which I didn’t even know was possible, but it did. I just love doing things like this with my IPS family.”
Passion for music inspires student to start after-school choir group Marisa Lang Graphic Designer What moves you? What inspires or drives you? Everyone has a passion, something that drives them and provides a source of inspiration in their daily lives. For senior Trevor Hayden, that passion is music. “Music has been an outlet for me almost to feel whatever I need to feel in that moment,” Hayden said. “Music when you sing is like bleeding to heal a wound sometimes, and so even though it hurts while it lasts it’s healing as well. For me I would say that’s especially true. I know music is one of my go-to things when I’m sad or just [when I’ve] had a bad day. Music is a refuge. It’s a sanctuary for me. There are many aspects of music which can create many emotions, and for me it’s something I have been able to pour my heart and soul into.” Hayden, a member of Pops and Chamber Choir, says he’s always liked music, and would go around the house as a kid singing whatever song he had recently heard that he liked the most. However, he didn’t realize his true passion for singing until his eighth grade choir class. “I think my passion for music was probably realized sometime during eighth
grade,” Hayden said. “I loved singing music and I was one of the few people who attempted to sight-read at that level. Then as that year progressed I just started to love singing and band -- especially singing -- more and more, and that was the year I actually started arranging a capella music as well.” This passion for music lead Hayden to start the after school a capella group, an ensemble of choir kids that share his love of music. The group meets after school on Tuesdays, practicing for the Showcase Concert next semester. Hayden says he started the group to share the experience of being in a small group choir with students from the large choirs, as well as a fun after school activity for kids that also have a passion for music. “The after-school a capella group has been something I figured would be fun and enjoyable for a while now,” Hayden said. “I started a small group that I thought would be just a couple of people that I thought would be fun to sing with.” Hayden started the group his freshman year, and has continued it every year since then, performing at the Variety Show and Showcase concerts. This year, he hopes to push members to get out of their comfort zones and take
up leadership roles. “This year I wanted to kind of take a step further, realizing that people that are singers at MHS, especially in Chamber Choir, are generally very competent,” Hayden said. “I wanted it to be a safe place to fail for anyone wanting to try something new. I wanted to encourage everyone to come and get out of their bubble and really experience music and just being vulnerable with each other through it.” Hayden says he has been influenced by teachers like Chad Pape and his experiences with small group choirs to make the after school a capella group both a learning experience, and an emotional, vulnerable one. “For me, [Pape’s teaching has] kind of shaped how I want after school a capella to be,” Hayden said. “Mr. Pape emphasizes that choir is a family and that we need to be vulnerable with each other and just the varying things that a family should do in order to be able to interact with each other at the highest level. And so after-school a capella is a group that I absolutely want that to happen. I want everybody to feel comfortable with each other, everybody to be able to experience emotion and happiness and sadness, and all the things you can love and experience with each other.”
Senior Trevor Hayden walks with members of the MHS Choir during a peformance. Hayden is a member of both the Pops and Chamber Choir. PHOTO BY ELASSIA CUNNINGHAM
Robison, Manhattan High promote alternative education Madison Newman Senior Photographer Students learn at various different paces, and Manhattan High has done its best to meet the needs of its students. Beyond regular courses, students can take Oracle credit recovery courses or go through the Manhattan Virtual Academy as a way of getting the credits they need. Robert Robison, new Oracle administrator, has been working with students in the market for what is generically known as alternative education, a program of education intended to develop students as personalities rather than trained specialists and to transmit a common cultural
heritage. “I feel like the regular classroom is not for every student. I didn’t grow up in the computer age, but I feel like maybe It might’ve been an option for me,” Robison said. “I didn’t fit in the classroom setting a lot of the times.” Robison got a degree to teach business, but he was unable to get a business job for his teaching assignment. Instead, he was offered the school’s brand new At Risk Program. “I didn’t really know what I was getting into, and they didn’t really know what needed to be done. I just needed to help these kids graduate,” Robison said. Robinson believes there are stereotypes for different kinds
of students but that kids don’t students don’t have that anyalways fail or succeed based on more.” those roles. For those students who “The 4.0 students, they can want to take part or all of their take care of themselves. But classes online, the Manhattan some of those kids [the 4.0 Virtual Academy located in students] can’t make it in life, the MHS facility is provided to and some students all “I just needed to help over the state of these at risk kids of Kansas. can -- their these kids graduate,” “We have background some stuand where -Robison dents that they’ve come do full time taught them with us, they how to survive,” Robison said. do their classes at home, and “I’m not trying to stereotype then we have some students either end, but maybe the 4.0 who just want to take like two student has had given every- classes and they fit it into their thing to them, you know mom regular schedule” MVA Acaand dad has given them ev- demic Success Coach Fani Dierything, maybe they have a ecker said. mom and a dad, which a lot of There are simple differences
between the Oracle and MVA programs. “Our teachers are actively providing instruction every week, every day with the students who are in the MVA courses, Brooke Blanck, MVA principal, said. “I can’t speak for Oracle, but I would say that is one of the differences.” Another difference is the fundamental purpose of teaching the course using technology. “We have a different curriculum. It’s a full comprehensive diploma program, not a credit recovery. It’s not something you can get done in two weeks,” Blanck said. The MVA program specifically meets the needs of its student as an individual.
“We provide our teachers with a creative pace chart, we’re on a semester schedule, and they meet with their teacher online, students from all over the state of Kansas -and that is when the instruction happens,” she said. Some students decide to drop out of traditional high school and get their GED, but Robison doesn’t believe that’s successful for most students. “After being taught and motivated by a teacher or teacher’s assistant, I just don’t understand how they think they’re going to do it on their own,” Robison said. “Sad to say a lot of these kids do not have the support at home, or help.”
Sports
The Mentor • Dec. 16, 2014
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Girls complete 72-22 thrashing of Topeka West Greg Woods Sports Editor
Sophomore Gigi McAtee dribbles the ball down the court Friday night. McAtee finished with five points, four rebounds and two assists. PHOTO BY GREG WOODS
On a night when the opposition was outscored by 50, the Manhattan High girls basketball team did not disappoint. The Lady Indians trounced Topeka West Friday night, 72-22, and improved to 2-0 overall. “Our girls did a great job,” head coach Scott Mall said. “I thought we worked hard on defense. We tried, on defensive transitions, to get ourselves into a position to get [Topeka West] stopped and then look for a chance to steal a pass when we could force a bad pass.” Behind a 10-0 run to begin the contest and eight points from senior Caroline Ballard in the first frame, Manhattan led 22-4 after one. “I was going to try to go out there and see what came to me and not force things, just let the offense come,” Ballard said. The second period would prove to be MHS’ most dominant period. Ballard added six more points en route to her 19 total points, and seven different Lady Indians contributed points. “[Getting contributions from different players] is always good; that’s always important,” senior Savannah Roberts said. “We want to get everyone involved but we also want everyone getting the chances they have to score, and to get those points up on the board.” Manhattan led 43-7 at halftime, allowing T-West just three points in the
second quarter. Ballard attributed the Lady Indians’ efficient defensive efforts to their strategy. “We did a new zone press that we like to do,” Ballard said. “We were all working together really well and anticipating the steal. It worked pretty well.” Only three Lady Indians scored in the third frame compared to seven in the second, but that was all MHS needed. Roberts tallied eight points in the quarter on 4-for-4 shooting. “I just happened to find all the open spots [in the third quarter],” Roberts said. “I made the right cuts at the right time and I have really good teammates that see the floor really well. They help me out definitely with that.” Manhattan carried on the second quarter’s theme of getting contributions from different players in the final period. Five different Lady Indians scored, and sophomore Kennedy Wilson notched six points in the quarter to help her to 10 overall to go along with five rebounds. “Kennedy’s had two really good games for a girl that didn’t get any Varsity action last year,” Mall said. “We really needed her to step in and give us another inside player, and I think she’s had two really good games so far.” Manhattan scored 14 points in the fourth and ran away with the win for the second-straight game. The Lady Indians return to action today to host Great Bend.
Wrestling takes second in dual behind top-ranked Goddard John Rockey Senior Staff Writer The fight for first began and ended in round five with the Manhattan High wrestlers and Goddard. The final of the Manhattan Dual tournament Saturday came down to MHS against Goddard with their dual ending the day. Goddard, ranked No. 1 in Kansas 5A, came with several ranked wrestlers and their distinct style of wrestling by working the head and executing front headlocks. “The boys wrestled good in that position, we controlled ties and we didn’t let them score out of that; and that’s their bread and butter,” coach Mike Miller said. “The guys that want to be there, want to perform, they’ll step up hurt, injured. And even on down moments in their wrestling styles, they’ll step up.” Sophomore Mason Wallace 132) was able to earn a last-minute decision at 7-5 followed by sophomore Devin Norris (138) who won in three
overtimes with an ultimate tiebreaker. But with two weight classes gone, MHS lost 12 team points and was put in a difficult position to come back against their opponent after a string of tough losses leading up to the last lightweight matches of the day. “I knew that team was going to be the toughest team that we’d have today,” Wallace said. “So we were going to have to wrestle our best. I think we performed good. But there’s a couple spots where we could’ve performed better and got a couple extra points to win the dual.” When freshman Jalin Harper (120) stepped up to his last match of the day, he was put in the same situation as Norris when he went into the first overtime in his bout. “It was really hard,” Harper said. “He’s a good competitor and I’ve wrestled him since I was about eight. So we go way back and I had never beat him before.” Each time Harper started the overtime rounds on top,
he was able to hold his opponent long enough and prevent an escape that would’ve cost the match. After the overtime rounds, Harper took the match by an escape and won his bout. “I just got it in my mind that I was going to hold him down and had to go for it.” Goddard took the meet after their 37-24 victory over MHS. The second place finish to the top team in 5A was seen by coach Mike Miller as a big step early in the season. “Our goal every tournament is to win the tournament,” Miller said. “Second is not bad here today. We’ve got to keep making strides towards our ultimate goal. And that’s the State tournament.” As the semester ends, the team now faces one of the largest meets of their season: the Grand Island tournament in Nebraska. Against 32 teams, the atmosphere of the threeday competition will be a test to wrestlers as they compete against a crop of new opponents from the Midwest before the winter break.
Bowling continues to prepare, decides on teams Joseph Sell Online Editor-in-Chief As the first tournament slowly approaches, the Manhattan High bowling team is beginning to prep for this year’s style of play. Part of the preparation was deciding who would start on Varsity for the guys team. The girls only have six team members this year, so all of them will be starting on Varsity. The coaches decided to have three team captains this year to help the less-experi-
enced bowlers improve their game. The captains included seniors Gerad Vanhoosier, Danielle Miller and Krystyn Winiecki. “When [the team] is doing something wrong and they can’t see what they’re doing wrong, I’ll do my best to figure out what they’re doing wrong and help them try to pick up spares,” Vanhoosier said. This year a majority of the tournaments will be played in Baker style for mat. Baker style has the team of six rotate by frame to have a cumulative
one-round team score. The team’s first tournament isn’t until after winter break. “Hopefully everyone will practice over break, maybe we will have some team practices and just practice a lot of spare shooting,” Miller said. The first tournament will be the Bishop Caroll invitational on Jan. 10 and will played in Baker style. “I think that if people get out and bowl, we’ll have a better chance of doing really well in our season,” Miller said.
Swimmers fight through injuries, take eighth in Olathe Angie Moss Business Manager Injuries can slow down any team in any sport but it didn’t seem to trip up Manhattan High’s boys swim team too much at the Olathe meet last Friday. MHS took eighth place with only 10 people competing in the meet due to various injuries. “I figured we were going to be in the lower ranks with Xavier Hayden, Ben Spellman, Sam Nelson and Matt Bandy to score some points,” senior Derrek Williams said. “I figured that with the big breaks in between events because of size that we would drop tons
of time. I for instance dropped over seven seconds in the 100 compared to my seed time and set a new personal best by 1.5 seconds.” Facing tough competition around provides a challenge for the team. “We raced against a lot of K.C. teams that we don’t see normally until State and they are good competition,” senior Hayden said. “We’re talking State champs on multiple teams so it’s always nice to be pushed with higher competition such as Blue Valley North or Shawnee Mission East.” There have already been a few relay teams to qualify to State including the 200 medley, 200 freestyle and 400 free-
style. “We’re definitely improving, especially with our relays. The guys are just working on knocking seconds and getting as many state cuts as possible,” senior Nick Clark said. Although none of the divers have been able to compete yet, the swim team has had promising results. “So far we’re doing pretty good considering we haven’t really had divers in meets,” sophomore Nate Clark said. “Our team has a lot of talent this year and I really think we can take first at a lot of our remaining meets.” The next meet is 3:30 tomorrow at the Kansas State University Natatorium.
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK FRESHMAN jalin HARPER
Harper won all four of his matches this weekend with two decisions, a pin and an ultimate tiebreaker. PHOTO BY JOHN ROCKEY
Boys hold off late rally from Topeka West Greg Woods Sports Editor Only one Indian scored in double figures Friday night, and that’s all that was necessary. Behind 22 points from junior Gabe Awbrey, the Manhattan High boys basketball team held off Topeka West on the road Friday night, 59-54. “[Awbrey]’s taken such ownership in how we play,” head coach Benji George said. “He’s become a great leader; he’s become more of a vocal leader, and I think that’s translating on the court. It’s not just the points he’s putting up; he’s getting guys in the right spots, and in the locker room he’s a good leader for us.” Awbrey has turned in 19and 22-point performances in Manhattan’s first two games of the season respectively. “I knew that we needed to knock down some shots,” Awbrey said. “My teammates were able to find me and I was able to knock them down tonight.” Awbrey finished the first frame with five points, and sophomore Trevor Hudgins contributed three on an andone. MHS trailed by two at the end of the first period. Despite getting contributions from just four Indians in the second frame, Manhattan proved efficient. Awbrey tallied 11 points in the quarter on 4-for-4 shooting, including 3-for-3 on three-pointers.
“It was a good shooting night,” Awbrey said. “But once again, like I said, I give my teammates the credit. Trevor and all the other guards were able to find me open when I was open.” The Indians took a 2824 advantage into the locker room at the half, and George was pleased with his team’s ability to overcome adversity. “I tried let [the players] know it’s going to be a different environment,” George said. “On the road in the league, it’s going to be different. I don’t know, early, that they believed me, but again, when our backs were against the wall, we stepped up.” The third period was a momentum-swinger. Manhattan managed just 10 points in the quarter, and back-to-back threes from Topeka West’s Adrian Aguilar put the Chargers up 38-35 late in the frame. “We lost Aguilar in transition, and they got some screens set for him,” George said. “We talked about [how] you can’t lose him. And we did two possessions in a row and he made us pay for it.” After being outscored 1910 in the third, Manhattan trailed by five at 43-38 entering the final period. Behind two three-pointers from senior Garrett Francis and one from Awbrey, MHS led 56-52 with less than a minute left. However, a Manhattan turnover with 37 seconds left led to
a breakaway layup for T-West’s Terry Smith III, closing the gap to two before free throws from junior Cole Gritton and Awbrey gave MHS a five-point advantage. “[The free throws] were important because they got us the two-possession game,” Awbrey said. “That was big.” The Indians put their 2-0 record on the line Tuesday as they host Great Bend.
STAT BREAKDOWN Trevor Hudgins 8 pts // 5 ast // 3 reb Grant Munsen 2 pts // 4 reb Gabe Awbrey 22 pts // 4 reb // 3 ast Pierson McAtee 8 pts // 1 reb // 2 ast Cole Gritton 9 pts // 5 reb // 1 ast Cole Dillon 1 ast Garrett Francis 6 pts // 2 reb // 3 ast Robbie Ostermann 2 pts // 1 ast Darryl Mallett 2 pts
Features The Mentor www.mhsmentor.com The Mentor • Dec. 16, 2014
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Entertainment
Choir performs, Winter Concert a success Elassia Cunningham Staff Writer
Manhattan High’s Varsity Choir perfroms in Rezac Auditorium as part of the choirs’ Winter Concert. Varsity Choir perfromed “Use Somebody” by The Kings of Leon. “I like the harmonies, and I also like how complex it [the song] gets sometimes. There are a lot of moving parts and a lot of separate parts that work well together. It’s probably one of my favorite songs,” senior Marisa Lang, Varsity Choir member, said. Photo by Elassia Cunningham
Parents and friends filled the Manhattan High School Rezac Auditorium last Tuesday to hear the MHS choirs perform in their winter concert. The choirs had a semester full of various local performances, school concerts and a trip to Disney World alongside the MHS band. However, the winter concert allowed students to show their vocal talents one last time this year. “I was really looking forward to Pops’ independent piece,” senior Justin Gittle said. “We were working on that really hard the past few days. I also enjoyed the last number we did.” The concert focused on what the students can do on an advanced vocal level. The students in both Pops Choir and Varsity Choir performed a song that was completely prepared and rehearsed by only the students. “Our program is very centered around students taking ownership of what their doing,” choir director Chad Pape said. “We don’t want to create trained monkey choirs. We want these kids to know what they’re doing and to know that their own decisions are valid and their own artistic expression is valid.” The music for the concert
could be described as challenging by some students. The piece “Damon,” performed by the Chamber choir, had some students concerned. “‘Damon’ was a harder piece that most colleges do, not usually high schools,” senior Tara Schroller said. Despites its difficulty level, ‘Damon’ became a particular favorite for some students in Chamber. “It’s definitely our favorite,” senior Xavier Hayden said. “I think collectively the Chamber’s choir favorite one.” The performance was an improvement in Gittle’s opinion. “I definitely feel like we’ve performed a lot better than the past performance,” Gittle said. “I thought we did a lot better tonight.” Though some students in the choirs were pleased with their performances, some students believe that there is room for improvement. “We need to be listening to each other, tightening our sound up a bit, and getting more of an emotional aspects put into our songs,” Hayden said. Gittle also suggest the choir works on comfort on the stage. “More comfort up on stage when theres a crowd as big as that one,” Gittle said. “We were just a little like, ‘Don’t mess up, and don’t screw this up, just be good.’”
Quirky One-Act Play Festival enjoyable for all Miranda Hairgrove Copy Editor Poop jokes, reflections on death, the multiple perceptions of others on one person, and experimental nonnonsense -- that what was in store for those who attended the One Act Play festival on Thursday and Friday. The festival consisted of four plays and two monologues. The plays partaking in the festival, “Down the Drain,” “Tris,” “Patchwork Confessionals” and “12345?”, were all student-written and directed. Two students, junior Madeline Wilson and sophomore Isaac Sorell, acted out published monologues. Sorrel also wrote and directed the play “12345?” with senior Lauren Fischer. The play is described in the program as “an experimental play that brings to question life, love, loss, hatred, hunger and mules...all through the use of the Facebook Status Generator!” “There are close to 300 lines in our script,” Sorell said. “We have had a month and a half to rehearse.” Before rehearsals started, however, the actors and actresses had to be chosen through auditions. “We had them read lines from the script and had them take ‘Apples to Apples’ cards and read and act out whatever was on the card,” Sorell said. After auditions were done and all the parts cast, the actors spent one and a half months working with their directors to make the shows. “The first day, Toula [Swee-
ney, junior] told us to go into the bathroom to rehearse and to poop,” junior Israel Wheatley, actor in “Down the Drain” said. “We kind of got comfortable with each other.” Toula Sweeney wrote and directed “Down the Drain.” “Toula is brilliant,” Wheatley said. “[There’s a part that] when you first read it and you first hear it, it sounds like a symbolism for poop, but then there are actually prairie dogs playing tennis. It doesn’t make any sense at all, but it’s still so funny.” With the limited amount of time, some actors found it difficult to properly prepare, particularly memorizing lines. Members of the “Down the Drain” cast used all of the time available to finally get their lines down. “The part when we’re screaming at each other, none of us could get the lines down until opening night,” Wheatley said. “So we would just kind of scream at each other and it wouldn’t make sense.” The cast of “12345?” had to memorize lines and blocking (how the actors are supposed to move on stage) for parts they might or might not have had to say. “A lot of the preparation was line memorization,” junior Emma Galitzer said. “The blocking was difficult but the hardest thing that any of us had was line memorization. Lauren made fortune cookies herself and put the lines inside the fortune cookies. And we memorized the blocking that went with each line, but we never know which lines we’re going to get.”
Senior Matthew Ball performs in “Down the Drain” at the annual One-Act Play Festival in the Black Box Theatre.
Junior Evan Heger, senior Madeline Wilson and sophomore Elizabeth Riforgiate do some warmups before performing a one-act.
Juniors Savannah Smith and Emma Galitzer, sophomore Elizabeth Riforgiate and senior Madeline Wilson are all smiles while they warm up before perfroming in a one-act. Photos by Miranda Hairgrove
Upcoming orchestra concert
Orchestra prepares for Winter Concert, Trans Siberian theme Elassia Cunningham Staff Writer In 24 hours, Manhattan High School’s Symphonic and Chamber Orchestras will perform during one of their two night Trans Siberian concert events. The orchestras have been anticipating the concert since the last quarterly concert. The concert will include a
live rock band along with a the traditional Trans Siberian light show. The winter concert is not like any other concert the orchestra has done. The music is a different style and there is more included into preparing for the concert. “I’m trying to make this concert more like a show than a concert,” orchestra director Nate McClendon said. “So
that there’s a seamless transition between pieces. There’s not going to be introduction and talking. It’s like we start the show and we go all the way from the beginning to the end.” Setting up for the concert is also different than previous concerts. “We don’t set up before, we set up as we’re doing the concert,” sophomore Lea Montanez
said. “So that’s kind of a pain, and you’re going to hear a lot of tripping the first night.” Rehearsals for the concert also differ from the norm. Instead of an individual rehearsal with one orchestra, rehearsals include both orchestras and the rock band. “There’s a lot going on to prepare for it,” McClendon said. “First of all its the combina-
tion of two orchestras and a rock band, so all three of those entities meet at separate times. So we’re trying to find extra rehearsal time to try to meet and put that together. That’s probably the hardest part.” Despite preparation challenges, some orchestra students are anticipating the concert to be a hit. “[The crowd will like]
the lights,” sophomore Vanessa Guvele said. With the combination of the music, the orchestras, the rock band and the lights, the concert will be an event that crowds have never seen from the MHS orchestra. “It’s a very different kind of thing,” McClendon said. “Honestly you don’t see orchestras do this type of music very often, especially in
high school. When you combine it with the light show, like it’s a top rate light show, too. So it’s a very energetic concert and the group sounds really good. I think people will be surprised at what the group sounds like and what the concert actually is.” The concert will be in Rezac Auditorium at 7 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday.
Seniors: Senior photo deadline is this Friday (Dec. 19)! Deliver photos and senior ads to C107 or email to mhsbluem@gmail.com
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The Mentor • Dec. 16, 2014
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s ’ n o s a e S s g n ti e e r G
“We’re probably going to go to Kansas City to visit my aunt and my grandmother’s coming on Christmas Eve. No school -- that’s like the highlight of winter break.”
“I’m planning a cocktail party but I don’t know if it’s actually going to happen or not.”
“This semester feels like it’s been going on forever but at the same time it’s flying by but it’s great that break is almost here. It’s a great time to relax.”
Katrina Yau, senior “My stepfamily is going to come over so we’re planning on going iceskating and stuff like that. We’re hoping it’ll snow. We’re going to decorate the house together and just bake stuff. Long story short, there’s going to be a lot of food.”
Levi Jones, senior
“I’m going back to my hometown. We don’t kanow for sure if we’re going yet or not. I plan on spending time with friends and family.”
Lauren Stansbury, Junior
“I’m just going to stay home and spend Christmas with my family. I’m excited...I love Christmas.”
Halsey Camera, Junior
Sami Phillips-Zee, Junior
Victoria Bastos, sophomore
“I have four Christmases to attend. I’m mostly looking forward to being out of school.”
Corbin Alvarez, sophomore
Guess Winners, Win Money - College Football Bowls
For some, winter break will also bring long hours of football. Circle who you think will win this year and bring your newspaper to the journalism room, C107, by the end of school Friday for a chance to win a $20 Chipotle gift card. AllState Sugar Bowl (Semifinal)
College Football Playoff National Championship Game
No. 1 Alabama (12-1) vs. No. 4 Ohio State (12-1)
Rose Bowl (Semifinal)
No. 2 Oregon (12-1) vs. No. 3 Florida State (13-0)
______________ vs. ______________
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
Gildan New Mexico Bowl
Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl
Nevada (7-5) vs. Louisiana-Lafayette (8-4)
Utah State (9-4) vs. UTEP (7-5)
No. 22 Utah (8-4) vs. Colorado State (10-2)
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
Raycom Media Camellia Bowl
Miami Beach Bowl
W. Michigan (8-4) vs. Air Force (9-3)
South Alabama (6-6) vs. Bowling Green (7-6)
BYU (8-4) vs. Memphis (9-3)
Boca Raton Bowl
Marshall (12-1) vs. N. Illinois (11-2)
S.D. County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl Navy (6-5) vs. San Diego State (7-5)
Popeyes Bahamas Bowl
Central Michigan (7-5) vs. W. Kentucky (7-5)
Hawaii Bowl
Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl
Quick Lane Bowl
Fresno State (6-7) vs. Rice (7-5)
Illinois (6-6) vs. Louisiana Tech (8-5)
Rutgers (7-5) vs. North Carolina (6-6)
Bitcoin St. Petersburg Bowl
Military Bowl
Hyundai Sun Bowl
NC State (7-5) vs. UCF (9-3)
Cincinnati (9-3) vs. Virginia Tech (6-6)
No. 15 Arizona State (9-3) vs. Duke (9-3)
Duck Commander Independence Bowl Miami (FL) (6-6) vs. South Carolina (6-6)
New Era Pinstripe Bowl
Boston College (7-5) vs. Penn State (6-6)
National University Holiday Bowl
Autozone Liberty Bowl
Texas A&M (7-5) vs. West Virginia (7-5)
Russell Athletic Bowl
Oklahoma (8-4) vs. No. 17 Clemson (9-3)
Advocare V100 Texas Bowl
Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl
Belk Bowl
Foster Farms Bowl
Notre Dame (7-5) vs. No. 23 LSU (8-4)
No. 13 Georgia (9-3) vs. No. 21 Louisville (9-3)
Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl
Vizio Fiesta Bowl
Nebraska (9-3) vs. No. 24 USC (8-4)
Arkansas (6-6) vs. Texas (6-6)
Mayland (7-5) vs. Stanford (7-5)
Capital One Orange Bowl
No. 9 Ole Miss (9-3) vs. No. 6 TCU (11-1)
No. 20 Boise State (11-2) vs. No. 10 Arizona (10-3)
No. 7 Mississippi State (10-2) vs. No. 12 Georgia Tech (10-3)
Outback Bowl
Goodyear Cotton Bowl
Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl
No. 19 Auburn (8-4) vs. No. 18 Wisconsin (10-3)
No. 8 Michigan State (10-2) vs. No. 5 Baylor (11-1)
No. 16 Missouri (10-3) vs. No. 25 Minnesota (8-4)
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl
Taxslayer Bowl
Valero Alamo Bowl
Houston (7-5) vs. Pittsburgh (6-6)
Iowa (7-5) vs. Tennessee (6-6)
No. 11 Kansas State (9-3) vs. No. 14 UCLA (9-3)
Ticketcity Cactus Bowl
Birmingham Bowl
Godaddy Bowl
Washington (8-5) vs. Oklahoma State (6-6)
East Carolina (8-4) vs. Florida (6-5)
Toledo (8-4) vs. Arkansas State (7-5)