Volume 102 Edition 18

The mentor

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Vol. 102 Issue 18 | Manhattan High School | Feb. 24, 2015

Special Olympics supporters take plunge

Senior Samantha Adams rushes out of the freezing lake during the 2015 Polar Plunge at Tuttle Creek. SEE STORY ON PAGE 3.

PHOTO BY DANIELLE COOK

Scholars Bowl triumphs over competition, finishes third at state Darian Foga-Frehn Staff Writer

The victorious Scholars Bowl team poses in the library after their third place win.

COURTESY PHOTO

Last weekend, the Manhattan High Scholars Bowl team brought home third place in the State Scholars Bowl competition at MHS, marking one of the most impressive finishes in years.

“The guys made this happen through their own efforts and hard work. This is all on their merits and abilities,” Assistant coach Tim Ekart said.

“I think we met our expectations. 3rd place is an awesome achievement and I’m really proud of the guys, as is Mr. Dawdy. Kudos to them.”

After qualifying for state by placing in the top four of their regional meet, finishing third was an unexpected triumph for MHS. With so many strong schools qualifying for

the competition, placing highly was not expected to be easy.

The Indians ended up surprising, and even shocked their friendly rival Washburn Rural by winning head to head.

“We were going into this knowing that we were an underdog,” Ekart said. “Washburn Rural has always been our rival, our kryptonite so to speak. The guys stayed calm and cool through that and we beat them.”

Being able to host the event was an added benefit for MHS. “It was an honor that the state asked us to host. It gave us a great deal of confidence,” Ekart said. “Having home field advantage and not having to travel was an advantage.”

Senior Luke Wuri is a major contributor to the team. As an upperclassmen, the State meet was his final event with

Scholars Bowl. Wuri first began participating in Scholars Bowl in middle school, seeing it as an opportunity to meet new people who shared his interests. He later moved to Manhattan the summer of his sophomore year, where he has been a member of the MHS Scholars Bowl team ever since.

According to Wuri, his final competition exceeded his expectations.

“It feels really good. All of our hard work and motivation paid off,” Wuri said. “There was definitely a lot on the line in this competition. We just tried our best and it turned out we finished third place overall.”

Now that the season has ended, meetings will cease.

However, team members will continue to keep their minds See Scholars on page 5

BPA members repeat success at state, qualify for nationals John Rockey Senior Staff Writer

The State Conference in Wichita on Saturday was more than competition for the Business Professionals of America.

It’s as real as the business world gets.

“You definitely learn how to work with people you don’t necessarily get along with otherwise,” senior Geri Speaks said.

Twenty-two BPA members representing Manhattan High took part in their annual state competition that tested their business sense in competitions ranging from entrepreneurship and finances to their

Global News Madeline Marshall News 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.

skills in problem solving and communications. As they go presenting their topics, they also handle the responsibility of using correct etiquette and appropriate dress that’s expected in the business world.

Junior Sakif Hossain, presenting to judges a sneaker reselling company that earned him first in the state for Entrepreneurship, recalled his feelings about competing compared to the previous year’s conference.

“It’s kind of like Shark Tank, so you have to get them to want to invest in it,” Hossain said. “I was pretty nervous at first. But once I was in it, I was pretty comfortable and I knew See BPA on page 5

Al-Shabaab threatens malls Terror group Al-Shabaab has released a video calling for attacks on shopping malls in Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States. AlShabaab, an al Qaeda-linked terror group, posted a video Saturday that talks about its September 2013 attack at an upscale mall in Nairobi. More than 60 people were killed in the siege that lasted four days.

In its new video, Al-Shabaab calls for similar attacks on malls in the three Western countries. While specific mall names were given in the vid-

State Conference results, national qualifiers

BPA members congregate after their competitions. The students performed very well and many qualified for nationals in Anaheim, Ca. COURTESY PHOTO eo, the names are not being released to the public at this point in time as government officials have stated that there is no actual working threat against any mall in the country and that no one should avoid going to a mall because of the online threat.

Walmart raises wages to combat federal intervention Walmart said that it would raise salaries for 40% of its staff, as well as increasing its base hourly wage to $9 -

$1.75 above the US minimum wage. By next February, all current workers will earn at least $10 per hour. The retailer has recently been under pressure from labor groups. While this increase from the current minimum wage of $7.25 is considered a step in the right direction, it is a far cry from the $15 per hour minimum wage that many are fighting for in the U.S. Business interests view Walmart’s newly pledged pay raise as new ammunition in the fight against an increase in the federal minimum wage (President Obama is currently heading a movement to raise

Fundamental Accounting - Suzanna Gevock (5th) Advanced Accounting - Danielle Miller (1st) and Dustin Wichman (3rd) Payroll Accounting - Mark Buckwalter (4th ), Geri Speaks ( 5th) and Casey Zoeller (10th) Financial Analyst Team – Emma Devane, Geri Speaks, Danielle Miller and Eric Deters (1st) Keyboarding Production - Eric Deters (5th) and Kelsey McCarthy (6th) Basic Office Systems & Procedures - Kelsey McCarthy (6th) PC Servicing and Troubleshooting - John Benfer (5th) Entrepreneurship - Sakif Hossain (1st) Interview Skills - Emma Devane (2nd) and Corbin Sedlacek (5th) Advanced Interview Skills - Adam Hupp (3rd) Presentation Management Team –Maya Minocha, Amanda Mack, Corbin Sedlacek and Mark Buckwalter (2nd)

the minimum wage to $10.10 across the country). In raising their minimum wage, business analysts say that Walmart is trying to move wage decisions back into the private sector.

Man kills 3 Muslim students A grand jury has indicted the man accused of killing three Muslim students in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Craig Hicks, 46, was indicted on three counts of first-degree murder, according to the Durham County Clerk’s office. He was also charged with dis-

charging a firearm into an occupied dwelling. Many posts attacking the Muslim faith have been found on Hick’s personal Facebook and the FBI is currently looking into the possibility of the murders being hate crimes.

“This has hate crime written all over it,” Mohammad Abu Salha said as he spoke at the funeral of his two daughters, Yusor and Razan Abu Salha and his son-in-law, Deah Barakat. The actions of Hicks have further illuminated islamophobia and it’s affects in America.

Opinions

The Mentor • Feb. 24, 2015

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‘Nazi-Chic’ result of ignorance:

Educate in Asian countries to stop inappropriate trends, prevent history repeating 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 As Americans we’re all made aware starting in elementary school of the horror that was the Holocaust. We watch documentaries and read books and have drilled in our minds the numbers -- 5,820,960 Jewish deaths, 1.1 million of those children. We’ve never been told it didn’t happen and we’ve always been educated on the tragic genocide and war it led to. We’d never dream of mimicking Nazi uniforms and calling it a “fashion statement” or “trendy.”

Recently in Asian countries there’s been a lot of attention

called to the current style that’s “Nazi-Chic,” most recently when members of Korean pop band Pritz performed in outfits questionably bearing a strong resemblance to those worn by officers in the Nazi regime.

The controversy is obvious, but the reason this group as well as many others in Asian countries have decided to dress this why is a little more difficult to try and understand.

During the discussion The Mentor editorial board held we came to the conclusion that the reason “Nazi-chic” exists is just a lack of education regarding a genocide that is, in most everywhere else, taught about again and again. There’s no denying the attire is offensive and inappropropriate, but perhaps the more frightening aspect is that they don’t see the problem. They don’t make the

connection. They don’t know the horror.

History repeats itself. The reason history classes are a requirement is to educate current and future generations on things that have occurred in the past and prevent the same mistakes from ever being made again. If seeing the clothing they’re wearing doesn’t disgust them or trigger thoughts of Hitler and the Holocaust, they haven’t received proper education and a fashion statement could be just the start.

Members of Pritz perform wearing outfits that are being questioned for resembling thos worn

by Nazi officers during WWII. PHOTO COURTESY OF WWW. ALLKPOP.COM

Pebbles in your shoes: Don’t let the little things slow you down

You want to know what really impresses me? Someone who’s good at talking. You know what I mean -- someone who knows how to keep you interested in the conversation you’re having with them. But what keeps you interested?

Maybe the question with a simpler answer would be, what makes you immediately uninterested in a conversation? Typically, whether you’ll admit it or not, when someone begins talking about their problems – complaining, more like – your mind most likely automatically turns the volume of their voice close to off.

Why? Maybe because they’re seriously killing your good vibe. Maybe because you have your own issues to deal with – to complain to someone else about later. Regardless of the reason, no one likes to listen to petty complaints because complaints taint a good mindset.

Sure, it’s good to get your problems off your chest by

voicing them – but it’s only really worth it if someone will listen. And the reality of it is, no one will truly listen unless your problems are worth caring about, and voiced problems worth caring about, they won’t come out as petty complaints, but as genuine openness to vulnerability in front of another person – to letting them in. If that’s the case, I can almost guarantee you that someone will listen, someone will care. Because people like that – most of us feed off being needed by someone else because of the emotional bond it creates between humans.

But if you’re just going to complain about how much you don’t want to be here today, how dumb your homework assignment is, how annoying the entertainment editor of “The Mentor” is with all her touchy-feely fluffy life advice columns, then no one will really care enough to listen to what you have to say – because it’s not all that important in the grand scheme of things, and therefore, petty complaints really aren’t worth hurting your own positive attitude or anyone else’s.

Complaining about little

things in life that don’t really matter is a habit we all have – it’s just part of our mental default. But learning not to let little annoying things in life bring us down can turn into a key strength we need to keep ourselves positive enough to feel happy. To truly feel the goodness in life, we have to believe in it. If you have pebbles in your shoes, complaining about them will only slow you down because the only one really listening to and caring about your complaints about them is you, which keeps you focusing on your pebbles instead of on, say, how cute your shoes are and how good that makes you feel.

In universally understandable terms: Beyonce would never make it up to the stage to accept a Grammy Award if she stopped to complain about pebbles in her stilettos to every single one of her friends as she passed by them along her way. And even if she did, they wouldn’t hear her anyway – because who cares about pebbles in your shoes when you could be doing something as rad as winning a Grammy?

Just a thought to ponder.

Question of the Week:

Improve humanity by caring about international affairs

Ambition, intelligence, success. All three of those words are motivating, complementary -- and more importantly -- not gender specific.

Recently, Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe announced that “Women can never be on par with men.” He stated that their main purpose is to produce and raise children and went on to say that women who hope to pursue a working life should cease to strive for such ideas and fulfill the roles that are appropriate for them.

Here we are, in 2015, still having people expect us to produce babies and stay home all day raising children. Granted, Mugabe rules over an autocratic country and women do not have the same rights as others would, but what is so wrong about being a female who works? Why does your ethnicity, country or sex matter?

Yes, males and females are different. However, that does not eliminate the fact that

Who’s your favorite president and why?

“Robyn Burton (junior class president),” junior Corbin Sedlacek, @csedlacek_97

“Ron Paul,” junior Autumn Hatcliff, @SneakyAutumn

“Beyonce,” sophomore Adelaide Bliss, @adelaideb97

“President Hoyt,” junior August Balman, @balmanaugust

“Obama,” junior Krista Burton, @itskristaanne

when he marries the woman) and prove that their daughter is worthy and skillful. A man in India does not just look for a fertile wife, he looks for a woman who would be able to do work for him without question, and they basically just have to pray that she is pretty if she happens to be unskilled and without a healthy dowry.

For those of you who look at this and say “Oh great, another feminist article crying about the mistreatment of women,” or thinking, “We’re in America; why should we care about another country’s actions?” it is sad one would be so simple minded.

People are all-talk lately, saying that they are all willing to stick up for others, but when the time comes to put words into actions suddenly they are silent. Stop speaking, start acting -- and furthermore, understand that to better ourselves as a planet that we must act like one.

The day the mistreatment stops will be the day the “ crazy feminists” stop. When people come together and stand up as a community, as a unit, that’ll be the time when people will care about what happens universally.

“Andrew Jackson because he killed people and was kind of a BA,” junior Rebekah Hennessy, @beccachat

Send your letters to the editor at mhsmentor@gmail.com “FDR,” junior Tammie Melton, @_tmelton_

What do you wish you could do for Spring Break? What are you actually doing? Tweet your answer @ mhsmentoronline or answer at our website, mhsmentor.com for a chance to be featured in the next edition.

Communication fundamental skill On my first day of high school almost every class I went to was full of kids like me. Bottom of the food chain, painfully uncomfortable and taking the courses our counselor recommended in some jabber about “core classes” and “A-G requirements” and maybe an elective or two.

women are still capable of basic working duties. Our opportunities should be, if not equal, very similar.

There will always be a man who can do a certain job better than a woman, and a woman who can do a certain job better than a man. In the past grunt work has been viewed as a man’s area of expertise, but hello -- have we not seen those muscular weight-lifting women? One can easily adapt to a working environment, no matter their sex.

It is truly unfortunate that in other countries, women are looked at in such a useless manner, but quite frankly it still happens everywhere.

For example, look at how the treatment of women in India is widely known to be extremely inhumane. Women are openly raped (oftentimes, the husband will leave the woman, then she will be shunned the rest of her life for having been raped), brutally beaten, and then expected to go make dinner for their husband -- who, by the way, is paid off to marry her. A woman is basically put up for auction, arranged by family members where the mother and father are expected to submit a dowry (a sum of money the man will receive

After lunch I walked into my last class of the day and immediately felt the change in atmosphere. The students in the room seemed strangely at ease and were clearly familiar with one another. Their level of comfort unnerved me more than any other class had all day and, of course, it was my speech class. The last thing I wanted to do was stand in front of my intimidating peers in such a vulnerable way -- and to have to do it every couple of weeks? I was mortified.

As much as I had initially

dreaded giving speeches and debating against them, it got easier. By the end of the semester I was totally comfortable and throughout the three years following that class I’ve found I’m capable of doing something many my age cannot: communicate my thoughts and feelings in coherent manner and speak to people older than me, maybe even intimidating, and take care of business.

According to www.pewresearch.org, 90 percent of American adults feel commu-

nication is the most important skill for kids to have to be successful. However, it isn’t a graduation requirement to take a speech or public speaking class at Manhattan High, yet a fine arts credit is, and only 24 percent of Americans think art is the most important skill to succeed.

Regardless of what field you go into or major in you’ll always have to communicate. It’s inevitable to have to interact with others and the better you are at it the further you’ll get.

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 Senior Staff Writers/Photographers -- Madison Newman, John Rockey Staff Writers/Photographers -- Elassia Cunningham, Darian Foga-Frehn, Erick Echegaray 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 • Feb. 24, 2015

Features

Splashing in the cold

MHS students help to raise awareness for Special Olympics through Polar Plunge

Upper Left: Junior Robyn Burton and participants of the polar plunge charge into the water. The event was used as a fundraiser for the Special Olympics. Lower Right: Seniors Justin Gittle and Noah Johnson and junior Robyn Burton head for the shore after a successful plunge. The weather at the time was below freezing. Left: Senior Madeline Wilson shares a hug with junior Colten Kirk after a chilly run. The polar plunge helped raise awareness for the Special Olympics, which will host regional basketball at MHS this Saturday.

PHOTOS BY DANIELLE COOK Danielle Cook Entertainment Editor On a chilly Saturday afternoon, Manhattan High Interpersonal skills students and teachers were “freezin’ for a reason” when they participated in Manhattan’s annual Polar Plunge, a fundraiser for Special Olympics held at Tuttle Creek.

Teams of Special Olympics supporters take a dip in the ice-cold lake, sponsored to do so from

individuals and businesses throughout the community.

According to IPS teacher Kim Schnee, this year’s Polar Plunge carried added benefit for those involved in local Special Olympics, as, unlike like any previous year, half of the proceeds raised through the Polar Plunge were awarded to the local branch of Special Olympics. Typically all of the proceeds would go to the state branch of the organization.

“This year is different because half of the money will go to the Kansas Special Olympics

and half will go to Manhattan Special Olympics, which is exciting,” Schnee said.

Aside from the obvious financial benefit for Special Olympics, Schnee said that the purpose of the event isn’t solely fundraising.

“I think the goal of doing it [the Polar Plunge] is to form camaraderie. It’s fun to see everyone supporting Special Olympics come together for one big thing,” Schnee said.

For senior Kristen Fraley, an IPS mentor and Special Olympics coach, getting the

word out -- reaching out to members of the community -- about Special Olympics is a key purpose of participating in the Polar Plunge.

“It’s really exciting just to get people out there to learn about Special Olympics and just to raise enough money to go to the competitions that we go to,” Fraley said. “I am a Special Olympics coach, so just working with all of the athletes is a big motivation to do Polar Plunge. In IPS class, you get to know a lot of the kids, but then you get to know them in

a different way through Special Olympics.”

Senior Ale Andrade, another IPS mentor Special Olympics coach expressed nervousness and excitement a few days prior to the Plunge.

“I am a coach for Special Olympics, so I’ve seen people do it throughout the years, and I thought it looked super fun,” Andrade said. “I figured, no one’s ever, like, died or anything doing it, so I was like, ‘Oh, yeah, I’ll do it,’ but now it’s supposed to be snowing and the water’s going to be so

freezing, but I think it’ll be worth it,” Andrade said.

Luckily for Polar Plunge participants,Saturday’s weather was clear and sunny, despite predictions of snow, and the Polar Plunge was a success.

According to Fraley, the purpose for the Polar Plunge can be seen during Special Olympics regional basketball, taking place at MHS this Saturday.

Sophomore participates in state piano competition, places highly Elassia Cunningham Staff Writer

Sophomore Audrey Pickering preforms at the state competition at Wichita State University. It was the second year in a row Pickering qualified for the event, earning a I rating both years.

COURTESY PHOTO

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She’s done it again.

After hours of rehearsing, sophomore Audrey Pickering traveled to Wichita State University to compete in the State Piano Festival last Saturday and earned a I rating.

Pickering qualified for the state piano festival after receiving a I rating at the Regional Piano competition held on Feb. 7, hosted at Bethany College in Lindsborg. Pickering competed in both the regional and state competition last year and received a I rating at both competitions.

Prior to the festival, Pickering stated that she had high expectations to achieve the same score she received last year.

“I'm a sophomore now,” Pickering said, “and last year I

got a I at Regional and then a I at State, so feel really pressured to get a I at State, because it's like, last year I did it...now I'm a sophomore, I should definitely get a I. [I am] competing against myself.”

Pickering's practicing techniques did not differ very much from her technique last year. However, she had the advantage of playing her festival piece more often.

“Last year, I had the same idea,” Pickering said. “Practicing, and this year I performed it more outside of when I actually perform it. I played it at KState, over at the studio class. I didn't get to do that last year.”

Pickering has also worked with associate professor of piano Dr. Virginia Houser at Kansas State University and with her mother, who has degree in piano, to prepare for

the festival.

Though Pickering felt the pressure to do well, she also felt excited and worried. Her faith helped her to cope with the pressure and anxiety.

“A lot of my religious beliefs have coped with that, like, scriptures of comfort, also, fasting, and just praying,” Pickering said. “Just kind of knowing that if I do my best, the Lord will make up for the rest.”

Pickering has played piano for eleven years and also plays cello in the MHS chamber orchestra. Pickering plans to pursue music in college as well.

“I'll plan on majoring [in music]. I don't know what instrument yet. I play cello in orchestra and my dad's an organ professor at K-State, so I kind of feel like I have, orchestra, the cello, the piano. But, I plan on majoring in music.”

Congratulations to our future Editors-in-Chief!

Madeline Marshall (The Mentor Print Editor-in-Chief)

Greg Woods (The Mentor Online Editor-In-Chief)

Interested in becoming a member of The Mentor next year? Pick up an application in C-Hall 107 or contact one of the above journalists to apply.

Sports

The Mentor • Feb. 24, 2015

Page 4

Boys rally past Hayden on road with fourth-quarter comeback Greg Woods Sports Editor The Manhattan High boys basketball team escaped Topeka with a win over Hayden Friday night, 56-54. The Indians (16-2) trailed for much of the game when they outscored the Wildcats 23-16 in the fourth quarter and hit 10 of their 11 fourth-quarter free throws.

Head coach Benji George explained that his team didn’t have difficulty making free throws in the final seconds.

“We were so locked in, that when we were going to the line, it was just like, you knew we were going to knock them down,” George said. “That’s how locked in we were in the

fourth quarter.”

Manhattan tied the game at 48 with 2:25 to play, and after Hayden answered with a basket on the other end, junior Robbie Ostermann knocked down a three to give the Indians a 51-50 lead. Senior Pierson McAtee later hit two free throws to widen MHS’ lead to 53-50, but the Wildcats responded with a basket from freshman Jett Canfield.

Sophomore Trevor Hudgins then made both of his free throw opportunities, grabbed Hayden guard Brogan Heinen’s miss on the other end and made 1-of-2 free throws, giving Manhattan a 56-52 lead.

Hayden’s Carson Engroff layed in an uncontested shot, but the

final buzzer sounded before the Indians could inbound the ball.

“It’s tough, especially being on the road in a tough atmosphere like this,” McAtee said.

“We came together as team like we showed this summer and we showed earlier this year.”

With the win, Manhattan has now defeated every team in the Centennial League and maintains its sole possession of first place in the league.

George explained that owning wins over every Centennial League team was something his players wanted.

“We talked about that coming in,” George said. “It was something the guys really

wanted, and it’s been a long time, I think, since we’ve won in this building.”

The Indians took a 10-5 lead after the first quarter and scored 11 in the second, but trailed Hayden at halftime, 2721.

“We tried to make some adjustments defensively [at halftime],” George said. “We felt like our defensive gameplan needed to change. [Hayden was] doing a good job against our pressure, so we talked about that. We needed to be better in the halfcourt offense too.”

Manhattan went on a 7-0 run to end the third quarter, trimming the Wildcats’ lead to 38-33. George explained

that the momentum helped his team make its comeback.

“I think we won the last three possessions of the third quarter,” George said. “At that point, the guys knew that a comeback was in sight.”

In addition to the rally, junior Gabe Awbrey explained that he was pleased to see his team’s efficiency at the free throw line.

“It was good to see them go down for everybody; that was big,” Awbrey said. “We don’t make those, we don’t win this game.”

Manhattan needs one win this week to clinch a share of the Centennial League title, and two to win it outright. The Indians’ final regular season

game is Friday against Seaman, but Manhattan travels to Junction City today to go for its 10th straight win over the Blue Jays. George said that the JC game will be a challenge for his team.

“They every different type of zone you can play,” George said. “It’s a kitchen sink game for them; I think we’re going to get the kitchen sink. They’re going to play every different type of defense you can play: triangle-and-two, box-andone, all of that. We’re going to have to be ready for every different type of defense you could possibly throw out there.”

Wrestling wins Regionals, qualifies 12 for State ATHLETE OF THE WEEK DARRION TAYLOR

Senior Darrion Taylor placed first in his weight class Saturday at the Regional meet and contributed 20 team points to help Manhattan capture the Regional title.

On his performance this weekend...

“First match came in and, just a tough kid and he was strong and everything. It wasn’t a long match. I had the skill to beat him, it was just that he was pretty strong…. And then my finals match was a really tough one. Full match, it was just, it was really close, honestly. Especially at the end, I slipped up and almost really, really got in trouble. So that was really bad for me but I still came out with a victory.”

Sophomore Eldon Picou and coach Mike Miller embrace on Saturday after Picou defeated an opponent to win the meet for MHS. PHOTO BY JOHN ROCKEY John Rockey Senior Staff Writer Regionals for the Manhattan High wrestling team came down to a thunderous crowd of Derby fans and Manhattan fans fixated on their heavyweights. MHS had qualified 12 people for State and the tournament came down to a matter of one team point. Sophomore Eldon Picou had to finish off the night, remembering his last loss at the Seaman dual.

“I knew I couldn’t let the rest of the season go like

that,” Picou said. “So I had to challenge everybody. Coach [Gonzales] told me to go out there and be smart. And every time I said, ‘I got to be smart, I got to do what I know, and got to be tedious in what I do and not make mistakes.’”

As the fight came down to a third period escape, Picou finished the last 30 seconds with a cut along his forehead to win the match with an 8-7 decision. Regionals finished with MHS scoring 183 points.

This win, however, was different than previously.

“It’s one of our goals when we start the year,” coach Mike

Miller said. “Our goal is to win every tournament we compete in. But our main three goals is league, regionals and State.

When we start the season, we set that goal at the very beginning. We hold the kids to that standard and for them to meet that standard, it’s a pretty special thing.”

As several players competed and placed in the semifinals, some wrestlers contended with back bracket placement.

This meant that they were still able to qualify for State and continue scoring points for the team to the end of the meet.

“It feels really good because

we all came together and a lot of us got some very key wins like [freshman] Calvin Smith,” freshman Jalin Harper said.

“He pulled a huge one out and got a pin in the last round to give us extra points. I really think we came did come together as a team and we all wrestled for each other.”

By the time the finals on both brackets came up, 12 MHS wrestlers qualified to wrestle at this weekend’s State championship in addition to coach Robert Gonzales being named Regional Coach of the Year. Coming this far in their season, the team now works

to address different issues in preparation for the last meet of the season. Senior Darrion Taylor, facing the same opponent in the finals that he lost to at League, came up addressing his mistakes throughout the week in order to take first.

“My main weakness for me was taking my shots and being aggressive during that first neutral part of the match,” Taylor said. “Winning against him meant everything to me this week and has just set me up in the perfect place next week.”

Friday and Saturday marks the State competition in Wich-

ita.

“To win a championship, you have to be able to compete on the backside; putting a previous loss behind you and make your way back through and score points for your team,” Miller said. “Those guys coming back through the back side and scoring those big wins in the backside semi finals and consolation finals, those are big wins and points that we need to win the tournament. Without those points, we don’t win the tournament today.”

Swimming takes 21st at State meet, wraps up 2015 campaign Angie Moss Business Manager Manhattan High School’s boys swimming team wrapped up their season last weekend by taking 21st at the State meet with 18 points total.

At the meet, the only way to score points for the team is to make it past preliminaries and into finals. To make it to finals, the swimmer has to place in

the top 16 during preliminaries in their individual or relay event.

Junior Matt Bandy was the highest scorer from MHS at the meet. Bandy took 11th place in the 500 meter freestyle with a time of 5:05.47. Bandy was in four events at State but only went to finals in three of the events.

“I had one of the best swim meets of my life. I had a new

fast suit, was shaved, and all of my strokes just clicked,” Bandy said. “Racing the best of the best at State just brings out a new speed that you can’t swim in-season.”

Senior Xavier Hayden was the second-highest placer from Manhattan and took 15th in the 100 meter butterfly at 57.32 seconds.

“I set some goals I was unsure I could manage, espe-

cially this being my last swim meet ever,” Hayden said. “The thought of ‘this is it’ was in the back of my mind the entire time.”

Bandy, Hayden, junior Sam Nelson and sophomore Weston Graves made up the medley relay team and ended in 13th place with a time of 1:46.89.

“I was just nervous about performing. I had a lot of pres-

Girls hoops edged by Hayden despite late rally Greg Woods Sports Editor A late-game rally wasn’t enough Friday night for the visitors.

The Manhattan High girls basketball team dropped its fourth game of the season Friday night, a 58-52 decision to Hayden. Manhattan trailed for much of the game, but sophomore Gigi McAtee hit a three to bring the Lady Indians (14-4) within three midway through the fourth quarter.

Junior Maddie Mittie later scored on a put-back and hit two free throws to tie the game at 47, but Manhattan wasn’t able to sustain the momentum. Head coach Scott Mall attributed the Lady Indians’ offensive struggles to Hayden’s full-court press. “[The press] did what presses are supposed to do,” Mall said. “It got us in a hurry, it got us to overlook what we wanted to do with the ball, and they took advantage of it.”

Manhattan’s leading scorer, senior Caroline Ballard, managed six points. Mall explained that Hayden’s press affected the senior as well.

“[She] wasn’t able to get her shot to go in early,” Mall said.

“That hurt us, some shots she normally makes. Because of the pace of the game, it got everybody moving a little quick.

She just wasn’t able to get the ball in the hole like she normally would.”

Manhattan led 11-5 after the first quarter, but committed eight turnovers and scored nine points in the second. Sophomore Gigi McAtee hit a three in the frame while senior Amara Ehie added two points, but Ehie explained that it was the second quarter that changed the game.

“We weren’t doing the same things we did in the first quarter,” Ehie said. “We got a little flustered.”

Mall concurred.

“We quit doing the things we did in the first quarter,” Mall said. “We had the same people open. The press gets you in a hurry and we got in a little bit of a hurry, and instead of taking what was there earlier, we overlooked that and got ourselves in trouble. That’s definitely where we lost control of the game.”

Manhattan faced a 30-20

deficit at halftime, and Mall said that his team needed to do a few basics.

“We needed to go back to fundamentals,” Mall said. “The first half, we didn’t pass well, we didn’t catch passes well; we didn’t get back on defense and play defensive positions like we wanted to. We just needed to go back to those things.”

The spread was 11 after the third frame, despite eight points in the third alone from Ehie. Mall explained that the third period helped lead his team into the fourth-quarter comeback.

“We came out and scored in the third quarter,” Mall said. “But [Hayden] hit some big shots in the third quarter from the outside, which they haven’t always hit, but our girls hung in there and kept battling and got ourselves back in the game.”

Manhattan outscored Hayden 19-14 in the final period, but the Wildcats’ Kirah Lohse hit two free throws to put the game out of reach after the Lady Indians tied the game at 47.

MHS returns to action Tuesday, a road game at Junc-

tion City. The Lady Indians routed JC 99-53 on Dec. 19, but McAtee doesn’t expect Tuesday’s game to have quite the same outcome. “[Junction City] is going to want to come and they’re going to want to play hard and win the game, obviously,” McAtee said. “We just need to come out and play our game again.”

STAT BREAKDOWN PLAYER

POINTS

Gigi McAtee..............12 Amara Ehie................12 Maddie Mittie..............6 Savannah Roberts........6 Savannah Thaemert.....6 Caroline Ballard..........6 Kennedy Wilson..........4 Kylie James.................2

sure on leading off the 200 medley relay and I was kind of worried that I would mess up or I wouldn’t go fast enough to make the cut,” Graves said.

State meets are more competitive than regular season meets because the best swimmers from every school in the state compete against each other. MHS only had seven state qualifiers, making it difficult to score points at the meet.

“We were fully prepared and went best times in almost every event, individuals and relays. Coach Jerry [Carpenter] had us rested the right amount,” Bandy said. “The competition at State is just harder than league or any other regular season meet. It’s just really tough to make finals, which is the only way to score points at state.”

Bowling takes fifth at League Joseph Sell Online Editor-in-Chief Manhattan High's girls and boys bowling teams both finished fifth at the League Tournament on Thursday.

Despite this finish the boys team had two bowlers, senior Gerad Vanhoosier and sophomore Dustin Wichmann, shoot over 600.

The boys team scores came in as Wichmann shooting a 696, Vanhoosier bowling a 656, senior Shon Eakes finishing with a 570, junior Frank Felber shooting a 544, senior Justin Coleman shooting a 523 and Nathaniel Chaput rounding out the scores with a 493.

This lead the boys to finish with a 2513 score tying them for fourth which was lost in the tiebreaker. “[I bowled] pretty good, could’ve done better,” Vanhoosier said. “I could’ve shot the ball better.”

Although Vanhoosier felt he could’ve shot better he didn’t mind the lane conditions. “[The lane conditions] were perfectly fine, Shon he struggled a little bit but it wasn’t that

bad,” Vanhoosier said.

The girls team scores came in lead by junior Andrea Miller shooting 571, freshman Taylor Smith shooting a 547, senior Danielle Miller finishing with 464, freshman Riley Taylor shooting a 395 and senior Kat Eimer rounding out the scores with 387. The team finished with a team score of 2016.

The bowling team will compete at the Regional tournament on Friday.

BY THE NUMBERS

2 5 2016

Number of Manhattan bowlers that shot over 600 Number of Manhattan bowlers that shot over 500

Overall team score totaled by the girls team

Page 5

Features The Mentor www.mhsmentor.com

The Mentor • Feb. 24, 2015

Entertainment

‘The Duff’ positive, teaches defying the label Staff Writer

photo courtesy of theduffmovie.com

“The Duff ” is a new movie that premiered last Friday. It is based on the book by Kody Keplinger, about Bianca, a smart, ordinary high school girl, portrayed in the movie by Mae Whitman “Parenthood,” who after her neighbor and childhood friend (not so much a friend anymore), popular jock Wesley, played by Robbie Amell from “Tomorrow People” and “The Flash,” calls her a “Duff ” (designated ugly fat friend) to her prettier and more popular best friends, Casey and Jessica, played by Skyler Samuels and Bianca Santos.

Now, to get the attention

of her crush, Toby, played by Nick Eversman, Bianca needs Wesley to help her reinvent herself. But being a Duff is not her only problem; she also has to deal with Madison, played

by Bella Thorne, the mean girl who is always there to remind Bianca that she is just a duff, and that she is going to use the powers of social media such as Facebook and Youtube to destroy Bianca, or at least her self-esteem. The duff is another of the many stories about how hard it can be in high school and the ways teenagers torture each other by putting labels on one another.

The funny thing is that throughout out the movie, you realize that being a Duff is not a bad thing -- everybody ends up being somebody’s duff.

Even though when some people see the trailer, they think of it as something mean or rude

to say, I think the purpose of the movie is, on the contrary, to help kids that feel they don’t fit in know that they are as unique as they are.

“The Duff ” also makes you realise that not everything that people say about you is true; for example when Wesley calls Bianca a duff a the beginning, she feels seriously offended, but after some thinking and help from her friends she realizes that being a “Duff,” even if is true, doesn’t have to be a bad or mean thing to say.

“The Duff ” brought me laughs and tears and everything you want to feel in a comedy. In my opinion it was a good movie. Some people might think it was offensive, but I think the purpose of the movie was to show kids the power of good self-esteem and defying labels.

Orchestra prepares for upcoming Chicago trip and performances Elassia Cunningham Staff Writer March is an important month for Manhattan High School’s orchestra. Orchestra will not only perform with middle school orchestra on Mar. 9, but Orchestra is also getting ready for a trip to Chicago.

According to orchestra director Nate McClendon the upcoming concert will help recruit future orchestra students and also preview music that orchestra will perform at the Chicago spring festival.

“We do this [concert] with the middle school, and it’s kind of a contest preview,” McClendon said. “Both the high school and the middle schools participate in festivals in the spring, so this concert is preparation for that so we will be playing music that we will be taking to contest.”

Junior Arnav Das expects the concert to be interesting.

“We get to teach, and hopefully some of the middle schoolers will want to continue doing orchestra throughout high school and hopefully some will want to join our program here,” Das said.

Das recollects performing with the high school orchestra in middle school himself and state that it was an enjoyable experience.

“In eighth grade we had this joint ‘Star Wars’ concert thing, where we played the soundtrack to ‘Star Wars’ with the eighth grade and the entire high school orchestra,” Das said. “It was pretty cool.”

According to McClendon, the concert may be more pressure for symphonic orchestra members than for chamber orchestra members.

“For the kids specifically in symphonic orchestra, there’s more pressure, because a majority of them are freshman,” McClendon said. “So a lot of these kids were in middle school last year and when the middle school kids come to join us, they have the pressure of establishing that ‘we’re better than we were in middle school’. Now, they’re playing with their old students, and they have improved, to show that they sound like high school students now, instead of middle school students.”

The concert will consist of performances by the symphonic, chambers and middle school orchestras, then a join performances from all three groups.

Both McClendon and Das believe the pieces that chamber orchestra will perform are more challenging.

“They’re [the pieces] very challenging, actually,” Das said. “We have to work, al-

most, every day to constantly perfect our intonation, rhythm and just cohesiveness as an ensemble. And it takes time and practice, but it’s really rewarding because it’s good music.”

Sophomore Audrey Pickering agrees that the pieces are challenging. However, Pickering feels more confident with the pieces since the orchestra has worked on them previously.

“For Chicago we’re going to do Tchaikovsky,” Pickering said, “which is hard. One of the movements we’re bringing up from last year and working on again, and we’ve started working on the first movement since the beginning of this year. So it’s really good. I feel like we’ve lived with them for a while, and now it’s refined and working out.”

Though the music has been practiced extensively, McClendon states that there is still more work to do before the pieces are perfected.

“I would say that we’re 70 percent of the way there,” McClendon said. “There is more growing to do. It’s kind of like the cake is ready to be taken out of the oven. Hopefully the cake is good. Now we have to make some good frosting and hope that we apply it well.

Meaning that they know their notes and rhythms, now we have to make music.”

Manhattan High Orchestra performs in Rezac Auditorium for last semester’s winter concert.

Photo by Elassia Cunningham

Jazz Band attends Jazz Band Festival at Friends University

Manhattan High Jazz Band performs in Rezac Auditorium during last semester’s Showcase concert. photo by Elassia Cunningham

The Manhattan High School Jazz Band traveled to Wichita on Friday to take part in the 22nd annual Friends University Jazz Festival.

“What happens is that after each band plays, they will be critiqued by a few judges who are usually professors. It’s a great way to get an educated opinion on how you played,” junior Ethan Levin said.

He, along a few other MHS students, put up a good show-

ing at the festival.

“Our performance wasn’t the best we’ve ever done, but it was definitely not the worst we’ve sounded,” sophomore Jack Mathews said. He played the drums in the Jazz Band’s performance.

“It went well. We were one of the most experienced bands out there and one of the judges said we were ready for the next level,” sophomore Josiah Wilson said.

Most of the MHS students’ thoughts about their performance was positive.

“After we played our set, the first thing the judges wanted to do was jam with us to the chords of a funk song. When that’s the first thing they want to do, you know you did good,” Levin said.

The band is, as a whole, looking forward to taking part in more experiences of this nature.

“We are ready as a program to start doing more events like this,” Levin said.

The MHS Jazz Band hopes to continue to perform and succeed.

MHS production of ‘Leaving Iowa’ success

Scholars from page 1

BPA from page 1

in shape for next year. Ekart believes the team has an impressive group of JV underclassmen waiting in the wings for the opportunity to join varsity. Despite the bar being set high by this year’s finish, the team should be ready to meet the challenge.

“We’ve got some really good sophomores and freshman coming up. Most of them are very driven students,” Ekart said. “They are some very highly motivated individuals and they are driven to education. I see good things in our future.”

I did a good job.”

Over the past two months, students prepared presentations and studied materials across several subjects of business, online systems or how to act during interviews.

They gathered their resources and went into the conference either to test their knowledge in different subjects or present to a panel of judges. In the Advanced Interview Skills session, senior Adam Hupp created a company that he had to apply and submit a resume to, earning him third place.

“I wanted to make sure I made the most of my preparation,” Hupp said. “I spent a lot

of time preparing so I could really make sure I performed well when my time came.”

Fourteen students qualified for this May’s National Leadership Conference in Anaheim. BPA sponsor Paige McCarthy saw the results of the conference as a collective effort from both the students and the faculty of the business department with the students able to strive and compete for MHS. “They had to get out of their comfort zone,” McCarthy said.

“They had to be able to put in that extra work for a fun club.

It’s always nice to see the kids dressed nicely and being able to see them accomplishing the roles of adults.”

Erick Echegaray Staff Writer

Alejandra Flores Staff Writer Thursday was the opening night for the winter play comedy “Leaving Iowa,” written by Tim Due and Spike Manton.

“Leaving Iowa” portrays the story of Don Browning, a middle-aged writer who returns home and decides to finally take his father’s ashes to his childhood home. But Don discovers that his grandma’s house is now a grocery shop, so he begins traveling across iowa looking for a proper place for his father’s ashes. This journey brings him old memories about one his annual child-

hood vacation trips. There were a lot of good expectations for this play and fortunately they were all accomplished.

“It was a good opening and I think it’s going to get better each night,” junior Toula Sweeney said after Thursday’s performance.

Since the beginning of the play there were a lot of laughs from the crowd, everyone seem to be enjoying the play.

“I thought it was a solid opening night. We had a good supportive crowd there, so it wasn’t too nerve-racking. The show clipped along at a good place and even if we slipped up some on stage we played

it off well enough so the audience couldn’t tell. The joy of live-theatre school is that you could get a different show every night,” senior Willie Michaels, who plays “The Father,” said.

Being in a play does not only requires to be a good actor but also a lot of stage details and projection, makeup and costumes.

“We did a good job this time with the costumes,” freshman Alexa Kroll said. “I am not nervous. I don’t think anything is going to go wrong. I’m excited.”

FFA prepares for National FFA Week Darian Foga-Frehn Staff Writer This week, FFA members all over the United States, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands are celebrating National FFA Week.

“It’s basically a week where we try to raise awareness about what FFA is and try to recruit people,” treasurer and senior Stormie Clemens said. “We’ll do different activities to show people what FFA is about.”

A big part of FFA is serving the community.

“We do service projects and thank people who’ve supported us,” vice president and senior April Ascher said.

Manhattan FFA is celebrating the week in a unique way.

“Each day we have a fun fact about FFA and on Tuesday we will be giving teachers donuts for teacher appreciation. One day we’re doing an Ag Olympics in the cafeteria to recruit people,” Clemens said.

National FFA Week started on Saturday, and FFA members started their celebration Monday. “[Yesterday], we wore FFA shirts to spread awareness visually throughout the students,” Ascher said.

The rest of the week includes activities that students can actively participate in and celebrate with the chapter.

“One of the days we will go around to all of the [agriculture] classes and talk about

what FFA is and Friday we will go out in official dress and thank the businesses and people who sponsor us throughout the year.”

Schedule: Monday-FFA Dress Day Tuesday- Teacher Appreciation Day Wednesday- Come on Down!

Ice Cream Day Thursday- Ag Olympics Friday- Thank you to businesses that sponsor FFA

Trending

The Mentor • Feb. 24, 2015 biography.com

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history.com

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infoplease.com

BLACK HISTORY MONTH

This annual celebration of the achievements of black people throughout history has been commemorated every February since 1976. The event was first honored during a week in 1926 and before then, black history had barely begun to be studied or documented. When the celebration was expanded to a month, President Gerald R. Ford urged Americans to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.” Read below about the feats of a few lesser-known yet influential blacks.

CLAUDETTE COLVIN

LEWIS LATIMER

HATTIE MCDANIEL

MAE JEMISON

1939-

1848-1928

1895-1952

1956-

In 1955, at the age of 15, Colvin refused the give up her seat on a bus [months before the more famous protest of Rosa Parks]. Colvin was also a plaintiff in Browder v. Gayle, a legal case that helped to end the practice of segregation on Montgomery buses.

As an inventor and draftsman, Latimer worked with Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell, designing his own inventions and contributing to the light bulb and the telephone.

“I sincerely hope I shall always be a credit to my race and to the motion picture industry,” McDaniel said in her Oscar acceptance speech. For her supporting role as Mammy in Gone with the Wind, McDaniel became the first African-American to win an Oscar in 1940.

Jemison -- astronaut, physician, Peace Corps volunteer, teacher and founder of two technology companies -- became the first African-American woman in outer space when Endeavour took off on its second mission in 1992.

SHIRLEY CHISHOLM

1924-2005 In 1928, Chisholm became the first African-American congresswoman and four years later, she became the first major-party black candidate to make a bid for the U.S. presidency.

Chisholm fought for education opportunities and social justice throughout her political career.

BESSIE COLEMAN

THURGOOD MARSHALL

1908-1993 Marshall became the first African-American justice of the Supreme Court in 1976 and was instrumental in ending legal segregation.

In 1954 he won the Brown v. Topeka Board of Education case, which ended racial segregation in public schools.

PHILLIS WHEATLEY

MADAME C.J. WALKER

TONI MORRISON

1867-1919

1931-

Largely regarded as the first female self-made millionaire in America, Walker created and began promoting a line of African-American hair care products in 1905. Walker began working on the Walker Building, an arts center, before her death.

This building would become an important AfricanAmerican cultural center.

As a Nobel Prize and Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist, among Morrison’s best known novels are The Bluest Eye, Song of Solomon and Beloved.

She is recognized as being instrumental in bringing recognition to AfricanAmerican literature.

GRANVILLE WOODS

1892-1926

1753-1784

1856-1910

Coleman became the first African-American to hold an international pilot license in 1922 and was the first African-American woman to stage a public flight in America.

With her first and only book of poems, Poems on Various Subjects Wheatley became the first U.S. slave, first African-American and third American woman to publish a book of poems.

Woods was known as “Black Edison” and was an inventor who made registered over 50 patents and made key contributions the telephone, street car and more.

NINA SIMONE

1933-2003 Simone sang jazz, blues and folk music and wrote songs promoting the Civil Rights movement. She was identified as the voice of the civil rights in the 1960s.