The mentor Vol. 102 Issue 10 | Manhattan High School | Nov. 18, 2014
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MAKING A DIFFERENCE
StuCo Blood Drive a successful student experience Darian Foga-Frehn Staff Writer Many Manhattan High School students and staff participated in the annual Fall Red Cross Blood Drive last Thursday during school. “My blood donation went really smoothly,” senior Kendrick Rivera said. “I donated to save lives. Knowing that I could be the difference between life and death is really important to me and I want to help as much as I can.” Senior Alliyah Strickland was also impressed with her donation experience. “[My donation] was good, although the wait was long,” Strickland said. “I’ve always wanted to donate and give back to my community, so this was a really good experience.” For Student Council members, the blood drive was a definite success. “This is my seventh blood drive,” senior class secretary and blood drive chair Dheepthi Perumal said. “We’ve made many changes to who can work here and donate, and it’s gone very smoothly.” Sign ups for the blood drive were scheduled for the beginning of the week leading up to the event, but were cut short due to the overwhelming number of students and staff volunteering to donate. “This is the first year all slots were filled up,” Perumal said. “We got backed up [during the
middle of the drive because of the numerous volunteers].” Some students did not find their donation experience as satisfactory as others. “Donating did not go as great as I thought it would,” senior Carol Wynn said. “I got really nauseous and light-headed all of a sudden. They had to lay me down and elevate my feet above my head. They put cold towels over my face,” Wynn stayed relatively calm through the process. “I felt the blood drain out of my face. It was weird, I almost wanted to laugh,” Wynn said. “After I was done about a half hour later, I sat down at the table and felt sick again. I did laugh that time.” Wynn thanks the StuCo workers present for staying alert and reacting quickly. The blood drive workers reacted really quickly once they knew what was going on. They laid me on the floor, propped my feet up on a chair, and made me do leg exercises,” Wynn said. Wynn says she would like to donate again, but feels that her next donation will not take Top: Senior Juoniah Taylor looks at her arm in surprise as she preplace at a school-sponsored drive. “At one point, I needed the blood,” Wynn pares for the needle to puncture her skin. Right: StuCo President said. “I lost blood during a scoliosis correction Nicholas N. Clark talks to junior Jaden Cady as her donates blood. surgery, and needed a transfusion. I donated to PHOTOS BY ANGIE MOSS give back and help those in need.”
Scholars Bowl continues successful season, sweeps J.V. meets Marisa Lang Graphic Designer The Manhattan High School varsity and junior varsity Scholars Bowl teams have continued to conquer the competition during recent tournaments. It began with the JV team sweeping the Shawnee Heights tournament, getting first place despite facing strong teams from Washburn Rural High
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.
School and the Wichita Independent School. “We were able to run undefeated and take the whole thing,” Scholars Bowl coach Tim Ekart said. “At Shawnee Heights there [were] six games of pool play and we managed to win our pool event and go on in [semi-finals]. The team followed this win with another first place finish in the tournament at Frankfort High School on Nov. 6.
players, so we had to step up and fill their spots,” senior Luge Wuri said. “I think we did well, really well. We ended up losing to only one team, and that was Washburn Rural. If we had our full team we would have done much better and probably won first place instead of second place.” “[We did] pretty well,” junior Joshua Schwartz said. “Obviously we could have done better because we only
got second place instead of first.” The team only lost to the team from Washburn Rural at this meet, but Wuri is confident they’ll be able to win against them at later tournaments. “The one school [that was a challenge] would have to be Washburn Rural just because we lost to them twice,” Wuri said. “The first time we played it was pretty close and the sec-
ond time was a little bigger defeat, but I think we definitely can beat them in the future.” Despite placing second at this meet, the team is still confident that they will be able qualify for the state tournament later in the season. “Qualifying for state, that’s our goal,” Wuri said. “We have a strong lineup. After last year we had a few people move and graduate but I think our team is much stronger this year.”
IS video shows G-20 meeting results New evidence from execution of US citi- in pledges for growth MH17 crash site zen, 18 Syrian troops Members of the top 20 After much delay, local
unable to support themselves after three months.” Cameron will attempt renegotiation with the EU before holding an inout referendum for EU membership.
the main asteroid belt of Jupiter and examining the melting of a frozen comet. The lander bounced after initially making contact with the comet and its energy pack died very soon after. However, the power lasted long enough for controllers to adjust the lander so that it will receive the maximum amount of sunlight on its solar energy panels. The objective of the mission is to uncover information on the composition of comets and the possibility of organic compounds found there. Scientists working on the project expect the mission to last about five months.
President Barack Obama confirmed on Monday that the man depicted and executed in the video released by the Islamic State group was United States aid worker Abdul-Rahman Kassig, formerly known as Peter until he changed his name after converting to Islam during his captivity. The video also depicts the beheading of 18 Syrian troops. The group is also responsible for multiple bombings at a bus station in Nigeria that killed at least eight people and injured dozens more. The bombings took place during rush hour.
“At Frankfort we just swept the whole thing,” Ekart said. “I feel very confident about our group of kids. We’ve got a good group of kids. They handled themselves well.” The varsity Scholars Bowl team continued this pattern on Thursday at the tournament in Hayden, placing second despite missing a few players. “I think the meet went really well considering that we were missing two of our main
rich and leading nations of the world met in Australia to discuss economic issues. The meeting ended with Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott reiterating the pledges by the attending members to increase each country’s economy by at least 2.1 percent, adding trillions to the global economy. A trip to Australia would not be complete without koala bears. Each member of G-20 and their spouses were able to hold and snuggle a koala bear.
workers were able to examine the MH17 crash site in eastern Ukraine. They removed debris and human remains. The MH17 flight was shot down over eastern Ukraine, purportedly, by Russian-backed rebels, although the rebels deny it. The flight had mostly Dutch nationals on board. According to the BBC, “the debris and remains will be taken to the Netherlands for examination.”Minister David Cameron has expressed an interest in “a plan to … ban migrants who do not have a job, and to deport those who are
Philae lander reaches its goal The European spacecraft Rosetta launched its lander, Philae, on Wednesday and the lander successfully landed on its target comet. Rosetta was launched a little less than 11 years ago and fell into orbit of its target comet, 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, in August. The mission marks many firsts in the history of space exploration including passing through
Opinions
The Mentor • Nov. 18, 2014
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Religion equality necessary Threat to internet is real in school calendar planning 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 Recently, the Montgomery County Board of Education denied the requests of Muslim school district members that their major religious holiday, Eid al-Adha, be included in the scheduling of off-days for next year’s school calendar. The Montgomery BOE instead claimed that “Winter Break” only included Christmas coincidentally, and that its scheduling of off-school days is not based around days pertaining to any particular religion. Upon discussion of this issue, “The Mentor” edito-
rial board found the claim that Montgomery’s BOE, and many others throughout the nation, does not base off-days mainly on Christian holidays to be false. Not only does “Winter Break” mainly fall during Christmastime, but for many school districts, there are breaks for things like the Christian holiday of Easter as well. Even Thanksgiving began as a Christian holiday; Abraham Lincoln made it a national holiday following Gettysburg. The concern of “The Mentor” editorial board is that students whose religious holidays are not included in any sort of break scheduling likely have to miss school days for said occasions and could potentially miss important learning opportunities or have to do the unnecessary work that often comes with catching up on as-
signments. The only solution to the issue at hand would be either to acknowledge the holidays of all existing religions in a school district with off-days from school, or not to acknowledge any religious holiday at all when it comes to planning school breaks. However logical, this solution is not possible for obvious reasons. In conclusion, the editorial board found that the issue of school breaks representing only a specific religious group is a problem, and should be addressed, but the solutions to said problem are rather complex, and would take a matter of years that we don’t have (within a single editorial board meeting) to become completely functional in fairness and equality for all.
Think about how much time you spend on the internet. A couple of minutes? Hours? Imagine a world where your internet service provider can purposely make certain websites load slowly for you just because that website didn’t pay a fee to be included in a special “fast-lane”. Note - this supposed fastlane isn’t any faster than your current internet, it’s the normal speed, but any website that doesn’t pay up to the ISP is kicked down to insufferable speeds. The only thing preventing this is net neutrality. Net neutrality is a rule upheld by the Federal Communications Commision that states that all data, regardless of its origin, must be treated equally
by ISPs. In other words; Facebook loads for you at the same speed that some dinky homemade website selling alpaca hair does. However, net neutrality is being threatened. Comcast, the largest ISP in the United States, slowed down popular movie and show streaming site Netflix after Netflix refused to pay a fee to Comcast. Comcast denied the claims that they slowed Netflix’s speeds for their customers, but data has shown a considerable drop in the data transfer speeds between Comcast customers and the Netflix servers during the period of the dispute, and a steep increase in speeds after Netflix gave in and paid. This blatantly shows Comcast’s interest in twisting money from websites in exchange for bearable data transfer speeds. It’s not just Comcast that wants to line its pockets at the
expense of websites and to the frustration of users. Comcast, and other major ISPs, including our own Cox Communications, have expressed an interest in ending net neutrality as a way to gather money to invest in bumping up speeds for all users. That is all a poorly thoughtup excuse to twist even more money out of a nearly monopolized market. These multi-billion dollar companies are spending millions in lobbying to Congress and the FCC to end net neutrality - money that they could be using to improve speeds for users like they claim they wish to do. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, major ISPs, including AT&T, Comcast, Cox, and Time Warner, have spent more than $30 million this year combined in lobbying Congress. This needs to stop. We need to put an end to these companies’ attempt to take away our freedom to a neutral internet.
Brownback’s re-election detrimental to Kansas Madeline Marshall News Editor
The mistake Kansas voters have made this past election is a grave one. By re-electing Governor Sam Brownback, Kansans have either chosen by conscious thought, or been deceived by a well-funded political machine, to continue on a path of economic despair. The irony of our economic collapse is Brownback’s Janusfaced position on corporate personhood – as Janus is a mythical, two-faced Roman god. To explain, in the 2008 election season, Citizens United, the Political Action Committee, sought to broadcast TV ads for a video-on-demand
film criticizing presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, but doing so would violate the 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, which kept corporations and unions from paying for media that mentioned any candidate in periods immediately preceding elections. Citizens United challenged the law, suing the Federal Election Commission (which sets campaign finance laws and election rules). The case made its way through lower courts until an appeal was granted by the U.S. Supreme Court. In a 5-4 ruling, the Justices declared the government restriction on “independent” political spending by corporations and unions unconstitutional and determined the anti-Clinton broadcast should have been allowed. The ruling created the idea of corporate personhood – corporations being perceived as and given the rights of individuals by the U.S. government.
This ruling on its own did Not surprisingly, these totals not destroy the Kansas econ- are roughly equal to the taxes omy, but Brownback’s misuse that would have been collected of it has. While Brownback on these exempt businesses. considered corporations to be By not fully acknowledging individuals when gaining cam- the Citizens United case that paign funding, he disregarded defined corporate personhood, their apparent Brownpersonhood “The irony of our eco- back has when eliminatdriven ing income tax- nomic collapse is Brown- K a n s a s es for approxi- back’s Janus-faced into the mately 191,000 ground. businesses. If one is position on corporate W h i l e to recogB r o w n b a c k personhood – as Janus nize busiclaimed the is a mythical, two-faced nesses as tax cut would individuspur economic Roman god.” als in one growth, just the circumopposite is true. stance, Though the majority of the na- they must be acknowledged as tion has largely recovered from such in all circumstances. the Great Recession, Kansas is There are no “special” indistill being forced to make huge viduals. All must pay taxes; all budget cuts. By July of this must have the same rights; all year, Kansas will face a budget must have the same responsishortfall upwards of $279M, bilities. Brownback’s disregard and will face another of over of individual equality on its $436M by this time next year. own is a gross and unaccept-
Question of the Week:
“Sandstorm -- Darude,” junior Louis Melgarejo said, @LouisAMelgarejo
What are you doing for Thanksgiving break? Tweet your answer @mhsmentoronline or answer at our website, mhsmentor.com for a chance to be featured in the next edition.
“electric feel by MGMT,” junior Colin Beauregard, @colinbeauregard
“little drummer boy -- unknown,” senior Xavier Hayden, @havyah
of Brownback’s administration, so now school district administrators will be able to fire their teachers with ease as massive budget cuts continue. Drastic budget cuts will lead to the loss of funding to noncore classes, extracurriculars will disappear and our parents will have less money to spend as local property taxes will surely rise to off-set the statelevel cuts. Brownback’s actions have already proved that his loyalties do not lie with the people of Kansas, but instead with corporations. In the following years, it seems that this will continue to be proven as he destroys our economic, societal and educational future as a state. We are headed down a path that is entangled with corporate money with Brownback’s lone, steady, pounding mantra being, ‘businesses are special, give them our money.’
Stop excusing celebrities
What song do you want to see performed at Battle of the Bands?
“Evanescence” junior Israel Wheatley said, @a_nu_matt
able action, but the effects of this economic slump are even more atrocious. Because of the aforementioned budget shortfalls, mammoth cuts will continue to be made. Less money will be put towards the correction and integration of prisoners into society, cuts will be made to necessary social services, college tuition will continue to rise at an alarming rate and elementary and secondary education funding will be diminished greatly. The greatest blow will surely be the cuts to education at all levels, as Brownback’s complete disregard for the needs of our educational system has already been illustrated through past budget cuts and court cases. The next four years will most certainly be nightmarish as we continue down this path and it will directly affect us as students. Teachers were already being denied their rights and protections because
It’s pretty common to turn on the news or log in to Facebook and see that some celebrity has been arrested for some ridiculous crime. If they aren’t being arrested, they’re going to rehab for drug or alcohol addiction. The response that the public has to celebrities doing wrong is completely different than when someone who isn’t famous gets arrested for similar reasons. There’s been a pattern of celebrities being excused from the appropriate punishment for the crime they commit because they have money to hire highly skilled lawyers. The courts are willing to let celebrities off with minimum punishment at the same time they’re giving ordinary people ridiculous sentences.
The Mentor is an open forum and accepts signed letters and guest columns from students, faculty members and parents. Letters and columns are distinct from each other. • Letters are in response to content in this publication and are recommended to be no longer than 350 words. • Columns are a new topic, a call to action or a clear statement of an opinion regarding a school or national issue and are required to be within 300-600 words in length. Anyone interested in contributing a guest column is advised to clear the topic with the editorial staff prior to writing it in order to save time and effort. The editorial staff reserved the right to edit for length, grammar and clarity while preserving the original intent. All letters, columns and other guest content must be signed and must be free of copyright violations. E-mail ideas and submissions to Editor-in-Chief Kristen Batson at mhsmentor@ gmail.com. Staff meetings take place every five-day school week on Tuesdays during fifth hour and editorial discussions are Wednesdays during second lunch. Anyone is invited to come pitch ideas.
Celebrities should get the same punishment as other citizens instead of being let off easy because they have more money than the average person. The most popular case that displays this injustice in the courts is the O.J. Simpson trial. He was arrested for the murder of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman. Simpson was found not guilty when there was evidence of him being there. Instead, all Simpson did was pay money to the families of the murdered. How is that justice? More recently, AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd was charged for attempting to procure the murders of two men, threatening to kill and the possession of cannabis and methamphetamine. He was then excused from serving his time because of his upcoming tour. The typical sentence for possession of meth alone in the state of Kansas is between five and nine years. For the
attempted murder of just one person is around 20 years. Rudd was excused from over 25 years of prison time just because of his international tour. At the same time there are people who can’t even get special release to go to their parents or children’s funerals for a single day. The media has also had a part in glamorizing the misconduct of celebrities. When stars like Lindsay Lohan and Charlie Sheen get arrested for being under the influence of drugs, they go to rehab instead of jail. The media even romanticizes them going to rehab, saying they’re trying to become a better person or have a better life. On the other hand, when someone who isn’t famous goes to rehab or has drugs in their system, they’re seen as trash and not even worth helping. The courts should stand by their policies and not bend the rules for celebrities just because they have money and a fan base.
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 CunninghamYounger, Darian Foga-Frehn, Hannah Johnson, Megan Klug 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 • Aug. 12, 2014
Features
Sorgjerd explores American Culture Danielle Cook Entertainment Editor
Seniors Synne Sorgjerd and Hope Bryant perform in the fall musical. Sorgjerd, a foriegn exchange student from Norway, Has become accustomed to American life.
PHOTO BY ANGIE MOSS
Senior Synne Sorgjerd, an exchange student from Oslo, Norway, is not sure what, exactly, made her want to study abroad in America, but she knows that she’s wanted this experience since she was 11 years old. “I’m not sure why I decided; I’ve just known since I was 11 that I wanted to go on exchange, so it wasn’t that big of a decision because I knew that I wanted to do it,” Sorgjerd said. “And I chose to come to America because that’s also something I had decided when I was 11.” In description of her first day of American high school at Manhattan High, Sorgjerd explained that stress was high because of the differences between the way the American school system works and the way the Norwegian school system works, but she managed to find her way around. “It was stressful because I didn’t know anyone other than my brother [senior Cameron Myers-Bowman], and I didn’t really know where all my class-
es were, but I found them all. It [high school] is very different here. We don’t have bells [in Norway], and we have block scheduling,” Sorgjerd said. “I’m not sure that I like having the same classes every day because it’s kind of tiring knowing that you might have classes that you don’t really like that you have to go to every day.” However different American school and life may be from Norwegian school and life, Sorgjerd has still found time to enjoy her hobbies, playing guitar and drawing, and has enjoyed her English, U.S. History and AP Studio Art classes. She also participated in “Hairspray,” the fall musical, which was something she may not have gotten the opportunity to do at home in Norway. “Auditions were scary, but the rest was all just fun. I had a good time, I met people,” Sorgjerd said. Though she’s currently a bit unsure of what she would like to do in the future, as far as college and careers, Sorgjerd said she may hopes she’ll “figure that out this year,” and is considering studying psychology
and possibly studying abroad another year in college. As for her current school experience abroad, Sorgjerd explained that making friends can be tricky, especially for exchange students. “Americans should talk to exchange students because we are scared and confused and alone. They should not be scared to talk to us -- we’re not scary,” Sorgjerd said. “A lot of people have told me that they think that exchange students can be kind of scary because they feel like they’re different, but really all we want is for people to talk to us.” Through her refreshing experience as an exchange student in America, Sorgjerd has learned much more that just the histories and customs of American culture. “Being somewhere else -starting over with a clean slate -- can be nice. I’ve realized that going somewhere else doesn’t make you someone else. It doesn’t change who you are. You’re still the same person -you’re just in a different place,” Sorgjerd said.
Exchange student ventures from Belgium to America Elassia Cunningham Staff Writer Imagine moving in your last year of high school. It would be extremely difficult. You probably wouldn’t want to leave your friend, nor your school. You would probably be pretty upset. Now imagine leaving your home and venturing off into a foreign country. That is what senior Amandine Audretsch did when she left her home in Mons, Belgium, and moved to Manhattan. “[I came to America] because I have dual citizenship, and I wanted to be able to experience the United States and not just hear about it,” Audretsch said. Mons is a part of southern Belgium, about an hour away from Brussels (Belgium’s capital) and 15 minutes away from France. Dutch, French and English are all spoken in the southern part of Belgium. Therefore, Audretsch is fluent in all three languages. Talking to Audretsch, you might not assume that she is foreign. She does not have a noticeable accent and sounds like a native American English speaker. “Since I lived close to a NATO base, I went to school on the base, and we had higher level English
classes. Also, my father is ‘native’ American speaking, so that helped a lot,” Audretsch said. “Plus my environment helped me to speak a little with my English, because it’s kind of common to have a second or third language when you live in Europe.” Living in America can be a complete culture shock for any foreigner. “[The hardest part about living in America is] communication. It’s weird when you talk to me, because people don’t know I’m from a different country because I don’t have an accent. Sometimes people just take me for a regular American,” she said. “Since, I’ve never lived in the U.S., I don’t know most of the expressions and things like that. Sometimes words that I say sound kind of weird. I don’t pronounce some things right.” Americans are known for freely expressing emotions. However, this was a little strange to Audretsch. “In the U.S., everyone’s so ‘I’m happy, every one sees it,’ and stuff like that. I’m not really expressive.” Being in any foreign country could be difficult. However, living with family friends has helped Audretsch adapt to living in America. “I chose to come to Kansas because I knew people who lived here that were previously stationed on the military
base. I’m already going to be lost in the U.S., and I needed some kind of thing that made me comfortable. I knew those people and we were friends, and I wanted to be able to have some kind of comfort zone. I didn’t want to go into an exchange student program where I didn’t know the people that I lived with.” Audretsch has been adapting to life in America. She is a member of Fellowship of Christian Athletes, French Club and Students Against Destructive Decisions. “I like being with people in school and it’s [clubs] a way to make friends,” she said. Though nothing is decided yet, Audretsch is considering either staying in America for college or returning to Belgium. Audretsch is currently looking at school’s in America and even considering Liberty University. “It’s a really big dilemma for me right now. I could stay in the U.S. and get a really expensive education, or I can just go to Belgium where it’s [college] is literally free. You just pay 800 euros and you go a whole year. Belgium universities are in the top schools in the world,” she said. “I’m more towards American college. I’m probably going to go out of state. More like Florida or Washington D.C. So it’s a broad spectrum for me right now. The U.S., right now, I like it a lot.”
Senior Amandine Audretsch tales a break from her busy school schedule to enjoy a book in the library. Audretch came to the United States from Belgium through the foriegn exchange program.
PHOTO BY ELASSIA CUNNINGHAM
Writing students participate in Nanowrimo Elassia Cunningham Staff Writer December is usually the time that most student start preparing for final exams. However, students taking creative writing this semester have the opportunity to share their independent projects. In the first quarter, students learned how write various forms of literature. Students wrote one act plays, stories, poetry books, and creative nonfiction stories. During the second students were able to pick a type of writ-
ing style that they wanted to write in. “We basically have free reign to do whatever we want this quarter,” senior Hunter Bagby said. There is a large variety of options for the project. One unique opportunity for the students was to participate in National Novel Writing Month (Nanowrimo). Students could join the online website for Nanowrimo and upload personal literature. Students could even get feedback from peers and other writers. “The goal is to write 50,000
words in the month of November,” creative writing teacher Judy McClendon said. “It’s a lot of words so the goal is not to edit. The goal is just to write a lot, and not to stop and edit or correct things.” Some novels written on Nanowrimo have become published novels. Student Hunter Bagby has chosen to work on the Nanowrimo project for the class. “Right now I’m writing a novel,” senior Hunter Bagby said. “I’m behind on it, but I’m doing it for National Writing Month.”
Other students have picked up other creative projects. “I am writing a book, poems, and songs,” junior Corrina Bishop said. “I’m going to write the music for them (songs) and videotape myself doing it and make a video for the class.” Some students stepped outside of the box of traditional literature and are writing more creative material. For instance, senior Krista Dix has began writing a fanfiction. “I didn’t want to work with a lot of things, so I’m actually doing it as a fanfiction,” Dix
said. “I already have the characters to work with, so I can just work with a longer format. We’ve never, in another class, had the opportunity to write anything past a couple pages. I’m really working on how to do an exposition and an overarching plot, and that's what I really want to work on.” Senior Breana Brooks has taken creating a book to another level. She plans to write a novel, then bind it herself. “My whole purpose in writing this book is because I want to bind the book cover for the novel, because I got into bind-
ing in the last project,” Brooks said. Overall, creative writing has introduced the student writers to a broad spectrum literary styles. The second semester has given the writers an opportunity to explore the type of literature that fits their personal style best. “It’s amazing,” Dix said. “Mrs. McClendon is there to help us focus on our writing, instead of trying to make us follow a structure.”
MHS welcomes new ag teacher German Club sells calendars Darian Foga-Frehn Staff Writer Manhattan High School has welcomed a new Agriculture Education teacher this fall. Rachel Green, from Dunbar, Neb., was a student at Lourdes Central High School before she decided on a teaching career. In her spare time, Green likes to relax and enjoy a quiet atmosphere at home. “I like to read, watch a good movie, play with my crazy dog, quilt, and crochet,” Green said. One of her favorite experiences in high school was participating in her school FFA chapter. “FFA is cool. In high school, I did everything in FFA, and I loved every minute of it,”
Green said. As the new Manhattan FFA Chapter advisor, Green encourages students to take an Agriculture class and join our FFA chapter. After high school, Green attended Oklahoma State University, continuing to participate in FFA at the collegiate level. “I got to go to Costa Rica twice with FFA, and it was such an awesome experience. I learned so much,” Green said. Many students believe that to be in an agriculture class or join FFA, they have to live or work on a farm and/or care for livestock and other animals. Green is working to disprove this generalization, and show students that agriculture is much more than that.
“I wanted to become an Ag teacher because I was, and still am, tired of the stereotypes of agriculture. Ag involves so much more than farming and I wanted to help students learn that,” Green said. Before coming to MHS, Green taught at a 1A school. “I just kind of migrated up here. I took a shot at a great job and I was blessed enough to get it,” Green said. At MHS West, Green teaches Wildlife Science and Botany first and second periods. She spends the rest of her day at MHS East Campus teaching Biology. “I am excited about getting to meet and know even more students [at MHS],” Green said.
Joseph Sell Online Editor-in-Chief The German Club is selling advent calendars to raise money for some students to go to Germany from May 22 to June 3. Advent Calendars are basi-
cally a countdown with a piece of chocolate for each day. “I think it’s a great thing so people can see how we celebrate December in Germany, and it’s good chocolate,” sophomore Jaalannee Dugasa said. “I’ve done it since I was a little
kid, I never found any of this calendar here.” German Club ordered the calendars to sell. “I think we’re doing pretty good, we had a lot less than we had when we got them,” sophomore Alisha Harrington said.
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Sports
The Mentor • Nov. 18, 2014
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George anticipates successful boys basketball season Greg Woods Sports Editor
Senior Pierson McAtee shoots last season versus Washburn Rural at home. PHOTO BY LOUIS MELGAREJO
Senior Pierson McAtee shoots last season against Washburn Rural Feb. 10 at home. PHOTO BY LOUIS MELGAREJO
Manhattan High boys basketball doesn’t begin its season until Dec. 5, but head coach Benji George anticipates it will be a successful one. George is entering his first full season coaching the Indians after assuming co-coaching duties alongside Shane Sieben last season after Tim Brooks was fired. George expects junior Gabe Awbrey’s role to be expanded. “Gabe is going to be a real X-factor for us,” George said. “He rebounds the basketball very well for a guard, he scores it well, he’s starting to get more aggressive with driving the ball to the basket. Gabe is going to transition into more of a leadership role for us, and that’ll be an important part of what he does for us.” Senior Payton Stephens transferred to McPherson High during the summer, taking away what would have been an important part of George’s strategy. “From an x’s and o’s standpoint, we planned a little more high-low stuff with him and Pierson [McAtee],” George said. “[Stephens’ absence] is going to change how we set up our offense. We’re going to have to be a little more guardoriented. I still think we can have success with playing at the pace that we want to play. We still have talented players; [Stephens] wasn’t the end-all and be-all of how we were going to play.” George explained that one of this season’s challenges lies in achieving chemistry among the players. “[A challenge will be]
meshing a group of guys [who] need experience playing together,” George said. “The dynamic of our team is going to be a little bit different. We’re going to have more younger guys playing. But we had an unbelievable summer. We had incredible success this summer. They started to get comfortable playing with each other, and I think that’s part of it. And I think part of it is getting through the transition of my expectations and how I’d like for them to play.” George explained that he plans to give sophomore Trevor Hudgins more playing time this season. Hudgins saw time on the court after Brooks was fired and then-seniors Bret Fehr and Darian Taylor left the team. “Trevor had an awesome summer,” George said. “I expect great things from him. We’ll see how he handles the transition into playing at 7:30, but he’s definitely in the mix for a guy that’s going to get time on the court.” George expects the biggest challenge this year to be rebounding. “I think we’re going to have to rebound the ball [to have success],” George said. “I think we’re going to have to get maybe creative at times with how we keep the ball out of the post. I think we’re going to have to really make sure that we control the tempo and pace of the game, and I think we have to utilize our weapons... We definitely have talented players and I think that if we make the transition and make the hurdle into how I’d like for us to play, then I think we’re going to be okay.”
Volleyball players compete in Konza league after regular season Angie Moss Business Manager When the regular volleyball season is over, athletes have the opportunity to compete on a Konza Volleyball team throughout the winter. To get on a Konza volleyball team, one must be a member of Heart of America Volleyball (HOAVB). The
HOAVB association is one of the 40 Regional Volleyball Associations of USA Volleyball. HOAVB covers all of Kansas and western Missouri. Parents, coaches and players can all sign up to be a member of the association. The office is located in Kansas City and has over 14,000 members. From there, anyone interested must pay $10 to try out
for a team. At tryouts, several coaches watch the athletes and determine who they want to be on their team. From there, the cost can range anywhere from $300 to $600 to compete depending on the amount of tournaments the team plays. “The Konza volleyball league is mostly from Manhattan but there’s leagues all over Kansas and they play to-
gether for tournaments. It’s really fun,” freshman Eilish MacCharles said. “I like being with my team and playing together and getting wins.” The league connects girls from Manhattan and builds friendships as well as improving athletic ability. Anyone interested can try out to be put on a Konza team; potential players don't need to have a
background in volleyball, but are required to be a member of HOAVB and to pay a tryout fee. There are also ways to get on a team without trying out if you’ve played in the league before and choose to stay with the same coach. Sometimes coaches also ask athletes to play before tryouts happen. “I’ve made so many friends
and I’m becoming a better athlete,” freshman Mackenzie Pease said. Tryouts were Nov. 9 and the season starts in January and lasts until around April.
Senior student-athletes sign to play collegiate athletics next year Greg Woods Sports Editor A few senior student-athletes at Manhattan High have signed to play at the next level. Those who have signed to play collegiate athletics so far included Kendrick Rivera, Jesse Steinbring and Michael Melgares. Melgares signed with the University of Kansas to run cross country. “It’s definitely a huge blessing to be able to go compete at KU,” Melgares said. “I don’t take it for granted at all because there have been a lot of people that have helped me to get to this point. I appreciate all of that. It’s really humbling to be able to go to the next level.” Melgares explained that his approach to running at KU will be much the same as his at the high school level. “[To have success at KU it will take] the same thing it has [taken] to have success at this level,” Melgares said. “It’s a lot
of hard work and getting in with a group of dedicated guys like they are at KU.” Melgares said that his other options for college included Wichita State, Kansas State, and Pittsburg State. “Eventually it came down between KU and Wichita State,” Melgares said. “About a week or so before I verbally committed, I was pretty sure I was going to go to KU. Wichita State, K-State and Pitt State all have great programs; it was really an honor and humbling to be recruited by them also. In the end, it turned out that KU is a better fit for me.” Steinbring signed to play baseball at Central Missouri State. “I’ve always wanted to play at the next level,” Steinbring said. “It’s kind of like a dream come true.” Among other options for Steinbring were Arkansas State, K-State, Creighton, junior colleges, Pittsburg State and Central Missouri. However, the senior chose Central
Missouri State for the success the Mules have had. “They’re really good,” Steinbring said. “They win the league every year. I like their program; I like what they’re about; [I] love the coaches and the people there.” Rivera signed with Baker University to wrestle. “It means a lot [to sign],” Rivera said. “Not only am I competing at a higher level, but I’m also going to a higher level of education.” Rivera explained that college wrestling differs from that at the high school level in terms of small aspects. “I’ve got to work on the little things [to succeed at Baker],” Rivera said. “I’ve got to stay focused. It’s basically just [working] on the little things [to] get it done.” Other options for Rivera included Simpson College and Luther College. “Baker seemed like the better fit; it was close to home,” Rivera said. “I can stay close to my mom.”
MHS graduates find success at K-State Burton flourishes as starting wide receiver
think the confidence is starting to correlate with what it was in high school.” Burton has caught 16 passAs No. 13 Kansas State es this football journeys season through its 2014 for a tocampaign, the tal of 164 Wildcats have built Coach Schartz and Coach Snyder are all yards. a 7-2 resume. T h e Sophomore wide about the basics and fundamentals and sophoreceiver Deante m o r e Burton graduated making you a better person.” also came from Manhattan -Deante Burton close to High and plays a catchsignificant role in K-State’s offense. Burton ex- MHS was fall 2011, and Bur- ing a touchdown pass twice plained that MHS and K-State’s ton said that transitioning against Oklahoma State and from MHS to K-State has not hauled in three passes for 23 offenses share similarities. yards, including one 15-yard “Both are real strong run- been an issue. “Very few guys go from be- reception. Burton also blocked ning offenses,” Burton said. “We definitely throw a lot ing a five-star recruit in high a punt Sept. 27 versus UTEP more than we did in high school to a big-time player in but did not make any recepschool. It’s more fundamen- college immediately,” Burton tions. Manhattan graduates who tally wise, they’re very similar. said. “As time has come on Coach [Joe] Schartz and coach and I’ve worked myself into a play for Snyder include Burton [Bill] Snyder are all about the starting role, I’m starting to see and freshmen Taylor Hilgers basics and fundamentals and a lot more playing time and I and Winston Dimel. Greg Woods Sports Editor
“
making you a better person. That’s probably the biggest similarity.” Burton’s senior season at
Senior Michael Melgares speaks Thursday morning after signing with the University of Kansas. PHOTO BY ANGIE MOSS
Wrestling weighs in for first time, prepares for 2014 season John Rockey Senior Staff Writer Every year is always a year to go for the State title. With a new crop of wrestlers and a number of returning Varsity competitors, the team sees a considerable amount of success from the primarily young group of individuals. “From what I’ve seen and have been trying to find out, we have most of our spots covered,” senior Darrion Taylor said. “And with our returning Varsity, everyone is pretty much within at least 10 pounds of where they should be.” The previous week marked the hydration tests and first weigh-ins for the wrestlers to establish where they stand in meeting the weight for their respective weight class. The wrestlers had several sports clinics that included Universi-
ty of Oklahoma head wrestling coach Mark Cody and Tyler Caldwell of Goddard. While some athletes may have worked with their own fall sports, it was up to a number of the wrestlers to work on their own to get themselves into wrestling shape for the coming season. “We have several of our wrestlers that are multi-sport athletes,” coach Michael Miller said. “We’re not as concerned that they’re in season shape because they are able to focus on other sports in the fall. And then we have those that are wrestlers. That’s all they do. They go and wrestle year-round. They take it upon themselves to find all the guys that aren’t out for something and getting them working out, which is a testament for them because they want to be on a good team.”
Among the returning wrestlers includes three seniors: Darrion Taylor, Kendrick Rivera and Kurtis Rich, and a number of sophomore wrestlers who started Varsity the previous season: Eldon Picou, Joe Braun, Devin Norris and Mason Wallace. Picou finished sixth at State last February while Wallace finished third and was named an All-American. The last time an Manhattan High wrestler was named an All-American was Jeff Vesta back in his senior year in 2009. The upcoming schedule includes a few weeks of practice that will lead up to the first Varsity and J.V. meets of the season, both at Washburn Rural, the first dual of the season. “Washburn is tough. They got a lot of good wrestlers,” Rivera said. “I think we’re tougher. I think we’re just, overall, a tougher team.”
Features The Mentor www.mhsmentor.com The Mentor • Nov. 18, 2014
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Entertainment
Hard work put into ‘Hairspray’ pays off in performances
Seniors Willie Michaels and Charlotte Benjamin perform a scene as Link Larkin and Tracy Turnblad in “Hairspray.”
Seniors Katie Bussman and Levi Jones sing “Without Love” as Penny Pingleton and Seaweed J. Stubbs in “Hairspray.” Miranda Hairgrove Copy Editor Amidst a cloud of hairspray and the smell of makeup, the actors and actresses got ready to go on stage for the Manhattan High production of “Hairspray.” The work before the show is just a hint at all the work that was put into get-
ting this musical from auditions to their final standing ovation. “I put a lot of work into the show,” the actress behind Tracy Turnblad, senior Charlotte Benjamin, said. “Rehearsals were right after school until 5 to 6. Leads, especially me, were here until 6. And then we were here from 4 to 10 for dress rehearsals”
Members of the cast of MHS’ production of “Hairspray” lock hands and sing “I Know Where I’ve Been.” Photos by Danielle Cook
While the actors were learning their lines, blocking and choreography, the affectionately termed “techies” were preparing all the other aspects of the production. “There’s lots of areas of tech, tech is literally everything except the acting,” stage manager junior Emma Galitzer said. “You have lights, sounds,
makeup, hair, costume, and then you have the stage managers and backstage crew. We make sure everything runs smoothly. It takes lots of responsibility. If we mess up, it will be noticeable.” When the quality of the production is on the line, the people behind the musical learn the benefits of working together.
“Teamwork is a big part of the production. We have to be on time with our music or else the actors get messed up,” junior Evan Heger said. But for many participants, the work was well worth the result of the final performances, especially Benjamin who has a special passion for the production.
“I’m really invested in this show because I’ve wanted to be Tracy for a very long time,” Benjamin said. “I relate to her a lot because obviously she’s bigger and she struggles. I like how happy everything is and it’s all happy ending and how everyone gets along in the end. I love how everyone can smile in the end.”
Warlords of Draenor: most promising expansions to World of Warcraft yet Joseph Sell Online Editor in Chief
14 months. That’s how long World of Warcraft players were stuck in the grind of the same content. That content drought came to an end, however, when the new expansion Warlords of Draenor was released. Warlords brings another
level grind from 90 to 100 for new raid and dungeon content. The leveling opened up with a beautiful storyline-like quest chain to take you to the starting zone of your faction. After getting to the starting zone, you unlock your garrison. Your garrison becomes your central hub in Draenor, providing you with your choice of building that will effect your experience in the expansion. The garrison is also
the way you level up professions and get gear. Each zone will also have a building that will give you a benefit in the zone. Another thing Warlords of Draenor brought is a new tier of raids called mythic, which require players at level 100 to gear up in heroic versions to complete. While raids are locked until Dec. 2 as an effort to slow people to explore and experience the expansion, the dun-
geons got harder without the need of a higher tier of challenger. I queued for the first two dungeons that open up, which lacked dungeon quests outside of your garrison, and they weren’t your standard face roll, don’t stand in the fire dungeons, instead at every corner you have to pay attention because there are random area of effect traps that go off or timed attacks from bosses. The healing in game was made harder, so the dungeons each
had a death despite being the easiest difficulty. The big change that worried everyone about the expansion was the number crunch. People were worried about no longer being able to solo old content. Blizzard continuously reaffirmed that all mobs would receive the number crunch to prevent this. After a run through my favorite old raids on one of my level 90s, I was surprised to see that it became easier to beat the old content.
Despite the fact that you need to gain 10 levels to experience the new raid and dungeon content, it felt much quicker and much more enjoyable to level. Blizzard finally managed to tell a story perfectly through your leveling and beyond. Overall I have to say Warlords of Draenor looks to be one of the most promising expansions to World of Warcraft yet.
Jazz Band swings away One Direction’s “Four” shows off mature sound crowd at first concert The internationally famous boyband One Direction has done it again with yet another incredible album. “Four,” the new album name, shows that the five boys in One Direction are growing up. Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, Liam Payne and Zayn Malik, the members of One Direction, say that this is the album they take the most pride in. Their previous albums “Up All Night,” “Take Me Home” and “Midnight Memories” all have very different and individual music styles. In the “Up All Night” album, the band stuck with a more pop sound, as heard in the “What Makes You Beautiful” hit single. However, the “Take Me Home” album was slightly more mature, music style maturing, as well as vocal performance. On the last
“Fool’s Gold” and “Night Changes” with additional songs such as “Stockholm Syndrome” and “Clouds.” Inevitably, the album includes some songs with excessive repetitiveness, but the songs are continually well written and have an astounding sound. The fans have matured with the band, and therefore accept their new sound of going back in time to the ‘80s. “Act My Age,” only found on the deluxe edition of “Four,” has an extremely unique sound that can be classified as Irish-based due to its background music, but also incorporates pop during the chorus. The music video corresponding with photo courtesy of onedirection.com the next single off the album, “Night Changes,” is to be a hit worldwide, being on released Nov. 21. The writers of the album, the top five pre-order list on iTunes since they announced mostly the band members, the album, and the release did a phenomenal job giving now making it to number one. the songs meaning rather than The album includes the single plain music with extreme re“Steal My Girl” and the songs petitiveness. “Four” will comreleased prior to the release pete with Taylor Swift’s new of the album, “Ready to Run,” album, “1989,” and even has “Where Do Broken Hearts the potential to be even more Go,” “18,” “Girl Almighty,” popular than “1989.” album, “Midnight Memories” the band had more of an ‘80s sound with the incorporation of the electric guitars. It is easy to say that the boyband has transitioned into more of a pop rock genre, with their fans following their lead. The album “Four” has been
Elassia Cunningham Staff Writer
The Manhattan High Jazz Band made history last night. The Jazz band performed a number catchy tunes for their first solo concert ever at MHS. Last year was the band’s first year together. The band typically performed at showcase concerts, last year, with other musical groups. However, this year the band is ready to hit the stage and show off what they’ve worked on these past few months. “[Being in Jazz] is both fun and hard,” sophomore Josiah Wilson said. “This is my first performance with Jazz, so it’s
pretty cool.” “We’ve grown a lot,” Jazz Band director, Nate McClendon said. “Last year, we didn’t even have a trombone section, now we have a full trombone section. Half the band is returning, half the band is new. Which is good because last year everyone in the band was new.” The blending of previous students and new students can be a little challenging for some of the new musicians. “It’s a lot of information to learn in a short amount of time,” junior Ben Stonebraker said. Jazz is a lot different from any type of music played by
the musical groups. It involves a lot of improvisation. “Jazz is a lot like basketball,” McClendon said, “where it’s just moving fast and anything can happen at any given time. There’s a lot of improvisation, of course, that happens with Jazz, and everybody has to be able to respond in time.” The band concert featured several solos from MHS musicians, and also a performance by the Thundercats, a local, professional jazz band. “I really like some of the people who are in it [Thundercats],” Stonebraker said. “I’ve heard some of them individually.”
Movie Season
Trending
The Mentor • Nov. 18, 2014
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 - Nov 20 The beginning of the end! This movie marks the first installment in the finale of the blockbuster series about Katniss Everdeen, a girl who leads a rebellion against an oppressive dystopian government.
Penguins, hobbits, singing orphans and living museum attractions. All of this and more are coming to theaters near you this holiday season. Check out all the upcoming new movies we can’t wait to see.
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies - Dec 17 The Penguins of Madagascar - Nov 26 You saw them first in the “Madagascar” movies, and now the penguins are back in this all new Dreamworks film. This movie is set right after the third “Madagascar” movie, and follows the penguins as they work with a spy network of animals called the North Wind to stop evil Dr. Octavius Brine.
Into the Woods - Dec 25
Unbroken - Dec 25 This upcoming war drama, directed by Angelina Jolie, focuses on Louis “Louie” Zamperini, a World War II hero who survives a plane crash into the Pacific Ocean and spends over two years in Japanese prisoner of war camps.
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When a baker and his wife learn that they’ve been cursed by a witch, the couple must enter the woods and find the objects that will help them break their spell. Based on the hit Broadway musical, this movie will feature an all-star cast, including Meryl Streep, Anna Kendrick, Chris Pine and Johnny Depp.
Hobbit Bilbo Baggins and his traveling companions are back in this third and final movie installment of the famed Tolkien story. In this eagerly awaited conclusion, the group must face an army of Orcs and the raging dragon Smaug.
Annie - Dec 19 This movie will take a classic musical and give it a modern twist. Annie, a New York City orphan, is adopted by Will Stacks [the updated version of Daddy Warbucks] as a political move in his campaign for mayor, and will eventually grow to love the sunny little orphan girl.
Night at the Museum 3: Secret of the Tomb - Dec 19 Imagine a place where all the museum attractions come to life at night. In the “Night at the Museum” movies, this idea becomes a reality. Thanks to the magic powers of The Tablet of Ahkmenrah, the museum attractions come to life when the sun goes down. But when the tablet begins to lose its power, security guard Larry Daley goes on a quest to save the magic before it disappears forever.
“Dumb and Dumber To” lives up to name Hannah Johnson 21st Century Journalism Student
It’s been a long 20 years since the Farrely Brothers made the original “Dumb and Dumber.” But anyone who watches television could tell you that some people will never get tired of watching idiots be idiots. When first sitting down for the movie, you don’t wait very long before discovering that “Dumb and Dumber To” resembles much of the original film, “Dumb and Dumber.” The first laughter of the audience is shared when Jeff Daniels, actor playing
Harry in the movie, meets up with Jim Carrey, actor playing Lloyd, at a mental hospital. The sequel shared a lot of the material from the first movie. As I could tell from the audience at the showing I attended, these two men are still able to get a rise from the crowd. But the question is: is this a good movie? It is -- but only if you think that watching a cat on meth swing from the ceiling falls under the category of “things that are good.” Is it an okay movie? Only if you think watching Lloyd eat a rat out of the trash is funny. Is it a disrespectful movie? If racism and criticism is disrespect, then yes. But to be quite honest, I
laughed. The movie was funny because it was so incredibly stupid. I laughed at Lloyd taking advantage of the blind kid, Billy. In that scene of the movie, I felt a reconnection to the original film. It may have been insulting, but if you didn’t laugh at that, then I’m not sure whether you’re really human. Just like many other movies in this category, such as the “Hangover,” “Dumb and Dumber To” portrays an insulting and stupid act. But in all honesty, these two men would have to be labeled “funny.”
Top: The duo ham it up on a plastic buck. Left: Lloyd Christmas [Carrey] pedals a bike while his pal Harry Dunne [Daniels] looks concerned. PHOTOS COURTESY OF DUMPADAY.COM AND SCREENRANT.COM
Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels reprise their roles as Lloyd Christmas and Harry Dunne in the new movie “Dumb and Dumber To.” In a scene from the first “Dumb and Dumber” movie from 1994, the pair dress up in brightly colored suits for a party. PHOTO COURTESY OF SCREENCRUSH.COM DESIGN BY MARISA LANG