The mentor Vol. 102 Issue 3 | Manhattan High School | Sept. 9, 2014
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Club sign-up allows students to grow, explore Miranda Hairgrove Copy Editor Maya Minocha Blue M Staff Writer Club sign-up is the time of year for students to get involved in new clubs. Manhattan High School held their annual club sign-up on Sept. 3 and 4. Clubs set up tables in the commons in order to recruit new members. Junior Rachel Chang, vice president of Key Club, has big plans for Key Club this year. “We are planning on having collaborative fundraisers with StuCo [student council] for UNICEF this year,” she said. UNICEF is the popular acronym for the United Nations Children Fund (formerly known as the United Nations International Children Emergency Fund) which provides aid to children and mothers in need all around the world.
With students excited about new things their club is doing, other students like junior Brandon Religa are excited about traditional club activities, like the annual Club Dodgeball game. Religa said he was looking forward to Club Dodgeball because the Spanish Club wins every year. Whether you’re an officer or a member, club sign ups are a great way for students to get involved with the school and community. Chang says she encourages people to join Key Club because it “gives you a lot of opportunity.” Senior Bailey Rowe adds that possible scholarships are available to active members of Key Club. Junior Dakota Santiago said she enjoyed clubs because “they [clubs] allow you to feel like you can do stuff with the community.”
Sophomore Isaac Sorrell, senior Lauren Fisher and juniors Evan Heger and Savannah Smith work the Thespian booth at club sign-up wearing assorted hats in order to convey the character of the club. The Thespians are one of the largest groups at Manhattan High. Photo by Audrey Phillips-Zee
Naviance website to be useful tool for students Madeline Marshall News Editor This year Manhattan High students have the opportunity to use a new online college and career readiness program known as “Naviance.” More specifically, students and parents have access to “Family Connection,” a customizable planning portal for students and families including selfdiscovery assessments, goalsetting, college research tools, course planning, career exploration resources and individual learning plans. “It will allow better communication between students and counselors as students are preparing for life after high school,” Career Counselor Katie Ball said. “Students can explore careers, research colleges, search and apply for scholarships and have access
to ACT prep.” The MHS staff has been training with the site since last February. “We gained access to the site last February and the counseling department has been involved in training and making the site relevant to MHS,” Ball said. “This includes creating graduation plans, uploading courses and scholarships.” Naviance, which is replacing Kansas Career Pipeline, has been determined to be a more user-friendly program. “This site [Kansas Career Pipeline] was used primarily for career exploration,” Ball said. “The other sections of this site was limited and not user friendly. Naviance provides a lot of resources for students in one location. It also allows students to have accounts and save all their information. Some sites are used only for
research and exploring.” The program, if used correctly, can have major benefits for students. “This site will provide students a one-stop-shop for college and career information,” Ball said. “All students have access to PrepMe [an ACT Prep program]. Once the students complete the diagnostic testing, the system will assign lessons in areas the student needs to improve. In return, this will hopefully improve ACT scores.” The site is being introduced to students as the new mode for voting for Homecoming. Voting for homecoming candidates opened this past Friday. Once candidates are selected, polls will open for all students to vote on homecoming King and Queen. “Students can access the site from their phones, iPads,
laptops or desktops,” Ball said. “We will also have computers available during the day for students who don’t have access at home.” Voting will open Wednesday and close at midnight on Friday. This site may become an essential part of preparing for college applications and determining future careers. Students who have an iPhone can download the app and set reminders to get tasks completed. Counselors can also assign tasks to students and send reminders about deadlines and upcoming events. “These reminders can help students stay on track and not miss important deadlines, especially for seniors,” Ball said. “If used routinely, this site can help students stay ahead in the college planning process.”
VOTE for HOMECOMING To vote, log-in to your Naviance account. Juniors vote for Homecoming Honoraries (boys and girls) and Seniors vote for Homecoming Candidates (boys and girls).
TO LOG-IN:
Username: student number Password: your initials followed by birthdate (example: Jane Doe, birthdate March 21, 1997, would be jd032197) Contact counselor Katie Ball if you have any problems logging in or voting. The library will be open during lunch on Monday if you need a place to vote.
SADD sticks reminder on beer:
‘STOP UNDERAGE DRINKING’
Angie Moss Business Manager
SADD members put this sticker on beer packages in stores throughout Manhattan. It is meant to discourage adults from giving alcohol to minors. Photo by Angie Moss
MHS faces parking problems Joseph Sell Online Editor-In-Chief Among the many controversial issues circulating Manhattan High School, a major issue for students (and sometimes faculty members) is parking. To clarify where to park: juniors and seniors should park in the east lot known as big lot or the south lot. Sophomores are only supposed to park in the back lot. Faculty are the only people allowed to park across the street in the lower lot and triangle lot. The issue that is currently facing students with parking is that there seem to be fewer parking spots than there are students who require it. “I think we sold more stu-
dent parking permits at this time last year than we sold this year and we didn’t have issues with student parking,” Greg Hoyt said, “So it’s a little bit quandarious why we have this issue this year.” But not everyone has a problem. “I’m not particularly aware of the parking problem. I personally have not had any problems,” senior Amir Esmailey said. “The only problems I’ve encountered with the parking is just showing up to school at a later time than usual.” Students also aren’t the only ones facing parking problems, faculty has also had problems parking near the building. One change last year that affected student parking was when parking across the street
in the lower lot and the triangle lot. “I wanted to close that as adult parking as a safety precaution because I didn’t want students crossing Poyntz from a parking lot to get to school, there’s a lot of traffic on poyntz and with the hills and the curves it’s somewhat of a dangerous crossing I don’t want to expose students to that,” Hoyt said. “But we do have some available parking that is available over there all day, and I’m not against creating some spaces over there for students because I do not like the fact that students who paid $50 for a permit to be able to park their car at Manhattan High School and not have a space available to them.”
High schoolers hanging out in liquor stores for a day isn’t something that happens too often but that’s what that five Manhattan High students did on Aug. 23 -- but with a purpose. As members of Students Against Destructive Decisions, seniors Katie Dixon, Alyssa Frey and Krystyn Winiecki and juniors Hannah Craig and Andrea Miller went to various liquor stores around town and participated in an event called Sticker Shock, which was sponsored by Manhattan Area Risk Prevention Coalition (MARPC). The SADD members and other businesses in Manhattan put stickers on packages of beer to discourage adults from giving alcohol to minors.
“We first met up at UFM and we were given an adult and an officer for each group and we were given certain stores to go to with our police officer and we had to have at least one adult with us because the minors couldn’t move the alcohol, we could only put stickers on them,” Dixon said. “So the police officers had to make sure we weren’t accidentally doing anything illegal which we didn’t, and we were given stickers that basically told people the dangers of giving alcohol to minors and what they could be fined for and all the legal troubles and it looked like a stop sign. It had ‘stop’ on it and the details underneath and so we went to our designated alcoholic store and we went into the coolers and we tried and put them on as much beer as we could.” While getting adults to lis-
ten to a bunch of high schoolers about the effects of giving alcohol to minors may seem rather difficult, SADD and other cooperating businesses accomplished the task. “I think it was very effective. The sticker was pretty straight forward and I feel like it caught people’s attention. If nothing else, I hope people take it to heart because teenagers do have easy access to alcohol and it’s becoming more of a problem. People need to realize the trouble they could get in and the harm they are causing to the lives of those teenagers,” Winiecki said. The members felt like they met their goals for the day. “It was a fun experience. It was interesting to go into coolers filled with beer that was like 26 degrees and it was freezing. Overall, it was pretty fun,” Dixon said.
ISIS huge threat to United States Miranda Hairgrove Copy Editor Within the past 30 days, a Sunni extremist group has beheaded two American journalists. The group has gone by several names but the most commonly used one in the United States is the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Now seen as one of the biggest threats to the United States, the U.S. government is “pursuing a long term strategy against ISIL [ISIS],” U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said in a press release Aug. 21. This came after the release of a video by ISIS showing the beheading of American journalist James Foley. The video was a warning to the U.S. government about their involvement in the Middle East. President Barack Obama did not comply with the warn-
ing in the video and increased U.S. efforts against ISIS in the Middle East. ISIS then created another video showing the execution of American journalist Steven Sotloff despite a plea from Sotloff ’s mother directly to the leader of ISIS, Abu Bakr alBaghdadi. “They’re beyond just a terrorist group,” Hagel said. “They marry ideology, a sophistication of strategic and tactical military prowess. They are tremendously well-funded. Oh, this is beyond anything that we’ve seen. So we must prepare for everything.” ISIS has declared an Islamic caliphate in the Middle East. A caliphate is an Islamic state ruled by a single leader known as a caliph. According to British new organization The Guardian, Baghdadi has
called upon all Muslims, not just those in Syria and Iraq, to “swear loyalty to him [Baghdadi].” Beheading the two journalists is just a sample of ISIS’ many crimes. ISIS has done “ethnic cleansing on a historical scale,” human rights organisation Amnesty International said on their website. “IS [ISIS] has systematically targeted non-Arab and nonSunni Muslim communities, killing or abducting hundreds, possibly thousands, and forcing more than 830,000 others to flee the areas it has captured since 10 June 2014.” Obama said in an interview with NBC’s Chuck Todd that he will meet with congressional leaders today and will make a speech about the U.S.’ “game plan” concerning ISIS tomorrow.
Opinions
The Mentor • Sept. 9, 2014
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Immigrants deserve Question of the Week: What club should MHS have that it fair treatment doesn’t already?
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
Over the years there has been quite a bit of debate about the issue of immigration. There tends to be a lot of anger coming from both sides of the argument, whether it’s directed towards the immigrants or those opposing immigration, so The Mentor editorial board sat down this past week to discuss a solution to the problem at hand after the recent illegal crossing into the United States through San Diego. The US itself is a huge melting pot. There are people from every continent, every culture, every religion and every race living in America. Every citizen has ancestors who are im-
migrants, no matter how distant, unless they’re purebred Native American. No American has the right to be upset that citizens of other countries want to come here to create a life for themselves and their families. None of us would be here if it wasn’t for people in the past doing the very same thing. America is the land of freedom and opportunity and we have no right to deny anybody of that. While it is ideal when those immigrating to the US take all of the legal means necessary to do so, illegal immigrants should not be treated as less than people. They are still human beings and need to be treated as such. They’re coming here to have a better life and escape whatever situation they may be in. Being greeted with guns, imprisonment, fines and deportation doesn’t solve anything and makes the situation worse all around. Once in the
US, they should be aided in taking whatever means necessary to become citizens. Many Americans seem to not understand how fortunate they are to be in a country where, for the most part, they are safe and have basic needs met. While there is concern that of illegal immigrants were granted citizenship they would merely sit and collect welfare, it’s difficult to get a job if you aren’t a citizen unless it’s under the table and likely low paying. If they were given citizenship they would be able to have legitimate careers to provide for themselves as well as pay taxes. The editorial board came to the consensus that the United States government should take any means necessary to help, not punish, those seeking refuge in America and aid in the transition to becoming contributing members of our society.
“An emotional support group. We can call it, ‘Emotions Suck,’” Camille Fellers, sophomore @camillieonn
“I have heard a lot of interest in a ‘Mr. Duntz fan club,’” Dustin Dunce, guidance counselor @duntzman
Value life of all humans
In light of recent worldly events such as the hazy Ferguson case in the United States, the revolting execution of American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff in Syria and the on-going controversy of the death penalty, I’ve thought a lot about the right to life I have as a human being— the right all human beings have, as human beings. We have a right to live our lives as, obviously, we were born into them for individual, specific reasons, I believe. And it’s frightening knowing that
no matter how in-control one is of his or her own life, the general safety of that life and how long that life lasts may come down to the intentions and choices of others. I’m the sort of person who believes, or likes to believe, that there is good in everyone—that everyone has some sense of at least the extremes of what’s right and what’s wrong, and that they’d choose, as humans, to act on that sense, to not only not kill other humans, but to show them kindness. No matter what a person does, I don’t believe they deserve to die. I don’t think it’s acceptable for one human to decide when another human’s life will end. It’s not our place to decide whether or not another human will see the dawn
of tomorrow, whether or not they will have fulfilled the purpose of their life by the time it’s ended. Extreme violence, to the point where people lose their lives on a regular basis is usually due to things like difference in politics and religion. But opinions and beliefs should be omitted when it comes to looking at people, when it comes to looking at human lives. We cannot judge others; it is not our place. And we cannot “punish” others for the ways that the differ from us, for it is, once again, not our place. We as humans, need to respect human life and what it means to be human, to have a beating heart and a fully-functioning, free-willed mind.
End gender inequality
I am a feminist. I believe in equal rights for all people, not just men and not just women. In today’s day in age we seem to forget that not only women are victims of discrimination and stereotyping because of their gender, but men as well. How many male cheerleaders do you know? What about ballet dancers? According to About.com 97 percent of all cheerleaders are female. We’re taught from a young age that girls cheer and boys are the play football, they’re the doctors while women are the nurses. There are so many examples of the defined gender
roles I could list off but it all comes down to the same sad, pathetic fact. We claim to be so advanced and accepting as a culture that we’re blind to the bigotry and sexism that occurs everyday, but if we band together, we can end this and create a more enlightened world for the generations to come. As a girl, it’s okay for me to be a tomboy. I can wear “boy” clothes and play whatever sport I want and it’s fine, but that doesn’t work both ways. A boy can’t wear “girl” clothes or be in dance without being judged and having his sexuality questioned. We’ve started to eliminate the notion of pink being feminine and blue being masculine, but it’s still undeniably associated with gender, particularly in babies. While this may seem insignificant, every small detail that
separates men from women and defines the role we will play based on sex needs to be stopped. We need to create an idea of equality and harmony between genders. Every individual should be encouraged to pursue the hobbies and careers they enjoy regardless of appearance or gender. It’s perfectly fine to be a girly girl or tomboy or macho man or whatever you want, and we should support our peers in any decision they choose to make. Together we can end fashion designers being viewed as either women or gay and bikers as men or lesbians. if we could get over our stereotypes and prejudices the world would benefit form it. we would be a population of happier, more fulfilled people and every single person benefits from that.
Would you like to see your words in print? Share them with The Mentor for a chance to have your story in the publication. 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 300600 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.
“Film Club,” Kayla Marienau, junior @kaylamarienau
What are your thoughts on the ACT? Tweet your answers to @mhsmentoronline or answer at our website, mhsmentor.com for a chance to be featured in next week’s paper.
Stop disrespecting police
What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word “cops?” Do the thoughts forming in your head about police officers consist of anything negative? Admit it, that’s all that’s going through your mind. “Did I do anything to get me arrested?” “Why are the cops here?” “Am I in trouble?” You might even be forming ideas to get yourself out of any trouble if you do get questioned. Our generation forgets that the police are here to protect us--not to arrest us. Think back to the shows you watched as a child, or maybe even shows you watch now. Analyze the mood of the characters when a position of authority walks into the room. There’s always that one character that has broken the law numerous times, especially in children’s shows. Does that character happen to be your favorite? The issue at hand with these shows is that they teach us at very young ages that the
police are here to hurt us, not help us. Not only do they create a character that isn’t a good influence on children, but they put the character in a positive light. Producers tend to make the troubled characters seem the coolest. This affects children. Now think of your parents. How many times have they said that if you do anything bad, you’ll end up in jail? How many times have they negatively described the police? Parents are teaching their children to avoid the police at all costs at young ages too. This is causing children from younger generations to think they can’t trust the police at any time, even in emergencies. This isn’t right. Police get paid to protect and guard the city and its citizens, just like the military does for the country. That is an honor. Of course, media and bad parenting aren’t completely to blame for our bad attitudes toward authority. Teens shouldn’t be breaking the law in the first place. We’re all old enough to know what’s right and wrong. Smoking marijuana behind the school and
sneaking alcohol into your drinks to make it seem like a normal drink is obviously illegal. It also makes you stupid. We’re in school to get smarter and prepare for life. Not kill our brain cells and ruin our record. You don’t benefit at all from getting drunk or high or violent. What’s the point of doing it? We’re raising children in a world where it’s okay to shoot down each other as well as anyone who gets in the way, which is unfortunately police officers a lot of the time. According to Officer Down Memorial Page, 251 officers have died in the line of duty this year alone, with 196 of the deaths being intentional. This is scary. The police aren’t here to ruin what ever fun you were having. They’re here to keep everyone safe. So here’s a thought, instead of breaking the law and doing things that you aren’t supposed to do, why don’t you find something fun to do that’s legal and not meant to disrespect or assault the police? That way, you still get to have fun and our police officers are safe and are guaranteed to go home every night… It’s a win-win situation.
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 -- Jake Bussman, Elassia Cunningham-Younger, Darian FogaFrehn, Jennie Jordan, Audrey Phillips-Zee
OTHER:
Angie Moss -- Business Manager Kristy Nyp -- Adviser 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 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 • Sept. 9, 2014
Features
Joyce draws winning key, takes home car Greg Woods Sports Editor
Junior Colt Joyce reacts after learning that he selected the winning key in the annual car drawing. Joyce maintained perfect attendance during the 2013-2014 school year. Photo by Chanel Williams
Friday, Aug. 29, the Manhattan High football team held its annual inter-squad scrimmage under the lights at Bishop Stadium. The annual car drawing was held as well, in addition to a canned food drive sponsored by Interpersonal Skills. Junior Colt Joyce was the winner of the car drawing and was eligible to win due to his perfect attendance last year. Each of the 24 eligible students was given a key to attempt to start the car, but only one was the correct key. “It was awesome because I won a car,” Joyce said. “Winning a car is cool no matter
what.” Joyce was already an owner of a car when he won the drawing, so he doesn’t plan to keep the new car for himself. “I’m actually going to sell it to my parents because they wanted a fuel-efficient car and I already have a car,” Joyce said. “I’m probably going to put [the money from selling the car] towards my first semester of college, and keep that in the bank until then.” He explained that it wasn’t a goal of his at the beginning of last year to achieve perfect attendance. “It just kind of happened,” Joyce said. “I wasn’t attempting to do it. I just didn’t get sick and didn’t skip school.” While Joyce was the sole
winner of the car, each of the eligible students (including Joyce) received other smaller prizes for achieving perfect attendance. “[For having perfect attendance] you got a free yearbook, a free activity ticket and a free parking pass,” Joyce said. He went on to explain that he doesn’t recall winning anything other than the car before, so he enjoyed winning such a large prize. “I wasn’t expecting it at all, and it was really cool.” Joyce said. “It was awesome.” Having already owned a car when he won the new one, he described how he felt about his new acquisition in a unique way. “Dollar signs,” Joyce said.
MHS welcomes new Industrial Arts teacher Darian Foga-Frehn Staff Writer This year, Manhattan High School welcomed back Monty Enright as the Industrial Arts teacher. Enright, age 57, was born in Hays, Kansas. “I went to Hays High School,” Enright said. “My favorite experiences in high school were the athletics. I was involved with football,
basketball, and baseball. I was also in many of the Industrial Arts classes. Wood Working and Drafting were my favorites, but I took about every Industrial Arts class you could take.” Enright then attended Fort Hayes State College after high school. “I was involved with athletics all four years, I did baseball. I was also in the Industrial Arts Club.” Sports are a big part of Enright’s life.
“My primary interest was to get into coaching, so athletics has always been my favorite. My second interest was to teach kids about technical careers.” Enright said. There were a few things that brought the Industrial Arts teacher to Manhattan. “[Before moving to Manhattan] I taught Industrial Arts classes at smaller schools. Moving to Manhattan was a wonderful
opportunity because of the wonderful school system, and of course the university.” Enright said. After leaving MHS to teach CAD Drafting at Manhattan Technical College for 16 years, Enright is excited to be back. He looks forward to the rest of the school year, and is ready to make changes in the Industrial Arts classes. “I’m very excited about upgrading the drafting
and woodworking program, as well as joining the outstanding administration and staff here.” Manhattan High School has changed quite a bit since Enright last taught here. “The biggest changes from the last time I was here was that they finished remodeling, and expanded the Industrial Arts Wing and Labs.” In his free time, Enright enjoys various sports. “My fa-
vorite hobby is golf. I have also officiated High School basketball for 37 years, and I coach football and softball.” MHS is excited for Enright to be back and looks forward to what he and his classes create throughout the next school year.
Hungarian finds home in America Madison Newman Senior Photographer Being a new student can have many challenges, ranging from jumping through the hoops of Hades to just talking to new people, but imagine being new, learning a new language and being in a totally different geographic location? Well, welcome to the world American Foreign Exchange Program junior Gyongyi Rozsas, from Hungary. Rozsas’s had an unusual first impression of Americans “You guys eat a lot more food. Like, fast food, but nobody is really fat. Where does it all go?” Rozsas said. When preparing to come to America, she was not nervous about living with the Haus family, who chose to host Rozsas for her stay. “Before I came here, my host family and some of their friends found me on Facebook and messaged me,” Rozsas said, “but I was like, ‘OK, at home nobody would do this.’ At first it was a little weird but then I got used to it and it is just so nice.” When preparing to come here, one might think that it would be a pretty scary preparatory experience- leaving home, going off into a new country to live with strangers in a strange world, but Rozsas took it by the horns. “I was not nervous, no. I was more excited.” To get into the program, preparatory classes are done and sort of like exams are held to observe the student and how quickly they adjust to the language they will need to be around. “I have been learning English since I was 10, I think. I started with my Dad but when I got to high school, in the seventh grade I started learning it more. At home we have options to learn English or German,” Rozsas said. When thinking of home, the first thing that came to her mind was food.
“I think at first I was homesick -- like the first few weeks -- but I am not homesick at all now. I mean, I have a new family here; it is a brand new thing. There are too many things to be happy about to really have something to miss yet,” Rozsas said. A question that strikes up in many conversations for these lucky kids are the differences in America versus their home country, Rozsas immediately smiled. “The people. Everyone is so open and outgoing and friendly,” she said. As a foreign student she faces certain difficulties day to day. “Sometimes when people are speaking too fast, and I have to make them repeat themselves and then I’m like ‘what’ and then they do it again and I’ll just pretend I know what they said,” admitted Rozsas. Getting around is another problem she faces. “I can’t drive here, but at home it is not very common for people to drive. We have public transportation and here 16-year-old kids have cars and I am just like ‘what the heck,’ so at home it is a really big thing if you get a car, we usually go by either walking or by bus,” she said. Rozsas said she plans to fully enjoy her time in America. “I decided before I got here that I wanted to leave this year, I only have seven and a half months here. I don’t know if I will ever come back again, I might not ever be able to come back here in my life again,” Rozsas said. “I want to live here, and not just be here in my body, you know like a physical thing, but I want to be here in my mind and it is really hard because when I am texting my friends at home it’s like I am at home in my mind, so I almost don’t want to text them because I am here, I want to be here.”
Graphic by Madeline Marshall
New writing class brings out creativity Elassia Cunningham Staff Writer Students at Manhattan High West Campus have the opportunity to share their passion for writing in the Creative Writing class. MHS has a broad range of electives; however Creative Writing is the first English elective available for junior
and seniors in many years. Judy McClendon instructs more than 20 passionate writers each semester. “Because of the wide range of students, [the class] is more fun and interesting,” McClendon said. The class studies various forms of writing, which include poetry, short stories and creative nonfiction the first quarter. During the second
quarter, the class begins an independent project. A literary journal will be published at the end of the year, and all students are encouraged to submit literary works. Last Wednesday, students of the Creative Writing class received a lecture from West Campus school librarian Joann Hettenbach on poetry and revision. Hettenbach was a former sophomore English
teacher at her previous school. “Don’t let the discussion of a poem or an analysis of a poem take away the joy of a poem,” Hettenbach said. Creativity is a personal form of art which leaves a writer vulnerable. A writer’s piece can easily be attacked by critics, but Hettenbach encouraged the young, passionate writers in the class to enjoy their work, and not to let any-
one take that away from them. The class will have the opportunity to observe Kansas State University classes, guest speaker Deborah Murray, occasional lessons on writing from Hettenbach, a lesson from Ashley Flinn from the Manhattan Experimental Theater Workshop, and also a chance to read original literary pieces at a future open mike night.
“It’s a really great class because it’s not for a test,” senior Krista Dix said. “There is no AP test, and it’s not for credit. There is really no structured curriculum that we have to follow, so we can learn about things that are very interesting. Basically anything we need to know for writing.”
Sports
The Mentor • Sept. 9, 2014
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Football wins in final seconds Greg Woods Sports Editor
Members of the Manhattan High football team talk with coaches during a break in play Friday night at Bishop Stadium. PHOTO BY TRACY LE
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK SENIOR CHRIS MARTIN
meaningful was it to score three Q: How times? I really don’t try to think about it, but it A: was pretty important for the team. Martin scored three rushing touchdowns in the Indians’ 28-25 win, including the game-winning score with 9.8 seconds to go.
Q:
What’s the most challenging part about getting into the endzone three times in one game?
A:
When you have people blocking like our line did, it was pretty easy. They opened the hole and I just did what I had to do to get in.
Friday night at Bishop Stadium, the Manhattan High football team achieved its first win. The Indians edged Shawnee Heights 28-25 with a rushing touchdown by senior Chris Martin with 9.8 seconds remaining in the game. “[Scoring the final touchdown] was a rush of emotions, honestly,” Martin said. “At first I didn’t even know I had scored, and [there was] chaos with my helmet, and [there were] just a whole bunch of things going through my head.” Manhattan struck first in the game, scoring on a fiveyard run from Martin, his first of three rushing touchdowns on the night. Shawnee Heights countered quickly with a long touchdown run and led 7-6 after the Thunderbirds blocked Manhattan’s PAT. “Shawnee Heights is a quality football team and I think everybody saw that they were extremely talented,” head coach Joe Schartz said. Martin’s second rushing touchdown came as the first quarter came to a close, and a two-point conversion put the Indians up 14-7 at the end of the first frame. The second quarter began with senior quarterback Eric Prockish scoring on the ground, putting MHS up two scores at 21-7. “We just made plays the way that was available,” Prockish said. “Some guys stepped
up.” Shawnee Heights’ scored twice in the second quarter. T-Bird running back Tony Barksdale’s 11-yard rush cut the Manhattan lead to 21-13 after a failed two-point conversion, and a touchdown on the final play of the half left SHHS down just 21-19 at halftime. Neither team scored in the third quarter, and MHS forced the Thunderbirds into a three-and-out on their opening drive of the second half. However, Shawnee Heights scored its third unanswered touchdown in the fourth quarter to take the lead, 25-21. With 5:20 left in the game, momentum swung in the Indians’ favor. Senior linebacker Luke Stegeman intercepted a T-Bird pass and set up Manhattan inside Thunderbird territory. “[The interception] was a must,” Schartz said. “I’m not quite sure if they ran the ball and punted [if] we’d had a chance to win.” “The play before [the interception], Coach looked at me and was like, ‘make a play,” Stegeman said. “And that’s what I did.” Martin’s last-second touchdown came on the ensuing drive, giving the Indians a perfect 1-0 start to the 2014 campaign. “[I’m] very proud of the kids,” Schartz said. “They exhibited a lot of heart and found a way to win.”
Cross country boys take first at only home meet of season “I was nervous. Always nervous. But I had my team behind me, so I wasn’t scared,” Efurd said. As soon as the Manhattan The team’s success was eviHigh Varsity cross country dent to coach Susan Melgares boys heard the news they finfrom what she saw across all ished off the Saturday meet in the races that day. first, they expressed their ela“What I saw today that I tion to starting off the 2014 really liked was I saw people season on a high note across tired in the middle and they the entire team. fought through it. They kept “After hearing that, that just going even though they were made my day. I’m definitely tired, and that’s so much of a very proud of my teammates,” challenge of cross senior Mithe finish is a chael MelgarI was nervous... But I had my team behind me, so I when long ways away and es said. you just got to keep S a t u r d a y wasn’t scared.” marked the -Taylor Efurd putting one foot in front of the other. So cross country that was good.” team’s only Going through with the home meet of the regular sea- held on to where we wanted to season in next week’s meet in son with the Manhattan Invi- be in the race.” Melgares, freshman Chris- Emporia means the team will tational at Warner Park, hosting 14 teams from Varsity level tina Martinez and junior be preparing for the year with to middle school in the early Mackenzie Gwinner all fin- a group capable of repeating morning. Manhattan took the ished in the top three indi- last year’s success. “We’re going to have to meet with both Varsity teams vidually of the Varsity race foltaking first with the boys scor- lowed by senior Megan Ochoa show up to every meet to win. ing 46. The girls scored 23; the in seventh place and senior We have to bring it every time,” J.V. girls also took first with 31 Taylor Efurd finishing in 10th sophomore Jackson Schroeder said. points scored, and the J.V. boys place. took second with 61 points John Rockey Senior Photographer
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scored. Both the Varsity and J.V. girls took the meet with their top five runners all finishing in the top 10 for both teams, and the Varsity and J.V. boys secured their wins with their top five runners finishing in the top 20. “We just wanted to make sure we started off solid and didn’t bite off more than we could chew,” sophomore Cara Melgares said. “And I think we did a pretty good start and
Sophomore Jackson Schroeder and senior Michael Melgares run at the Manhattan Invitational. PHOTO BY JOHN ROCKEY
Girls tennis takes two first-place finishes Soccer wins er meets, we had to cut it from Jake Bussmann twice at tourney our schedule,” sophomore Staff Writer Jennie Jordan Blue M Editor-in-Chief Angie Moss Business Manager While the Manhattan High boys soccer team has never won the Wichita Titan Tournament, this year the boys brought back two victories. After graduating many of last year’s seniors and acquiring those new to the team, the boys faced many challenges going into the beginning of the season. In practices the team had trouble with the speed of the plays but picked it up with the few before the tournament. MHS struggled with keeping possession of the ball during the first game and putting the ball in the back of the net when given the chance. “After the first game, we did better,” senior Adam Hupp said. “It was a wake-up call for us.” The team looked at their mistakes to accomplish more for later games. After enduring a groin injury during the game against Dodge City, senior Jordan Disberger was benched temporarily. Planning to stay out until overtime, he returned with three minutes left on the clock. After a tug-of-war over the ball, Manhattan pulled enough to where the ball made it to the other team’s goal, put in by Disberger. “The ball ricochetted off some people and went in,” Disberger said. Manhattan also triumphed against Hutchinson by a score of 3-1.
The first meet proved to be a tough trial for the Manhattan High girl’s tennis team last week. On Sept. 4, the team played in the Junction City Quad. Singles leaders Cathy Lei and Kristen Fraley came out of it with an undefeated record of 3-0. The girls were originally supposed to play their first meet in Manhattan; however, this was not the case. “Due to the amount of oth-
Lauren Robben said. Robben, paired up with Danielle Miller, went 1-2 during the day. Up next for the Lady Indians is the Topeka High Meet, which includes Topeka High, Topeka West, Shawnee Heights and Manhattan. “Even though I’m not going, we should do pretty good,” Robben said.
Volleyball goes 3-2 at tournament Miranda Hairgrove Copy Editor Last Saturday the varsity volleyball team attended a tournament hosted by Olathe South High School. The girls played five games, winning three and losing two. This was their first tournament of the
season. “The girls played very well,” varsity volleyball coach Lisa Kinderknecht said. The varsity team will be attending another tournament Thursday at Silverlake where they will play against Silverlake, Seamen, and Shawnee Heights.
GIRLS GOLF UPCOMING SCHEDULE Today | Salina Central | 3 p.m. Sept. 15 | Salina Central (J.V.) | 3 p.m. Sept. 16 | Lawrence Inv. | 8 a.m. Sept. 18 | Salina South Inv. | 3 p.m.
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Features The Mentor www.mhsmentor.com The Mentor • Aug. 12, 2014
Entertainment
Thespains, dancers perform at Purple Power Play
Above right: Senior Katrina Yau and freshman Emily Willi hold poses for a gathering audience at Purple Power Play in City Park. Top left: Senior Francie Knackendoffel moves to the music onstage in City Park at Purple Power Play. Bottom left: Members of the Manhattan High Thespian Trouple strike a still pose for passers-by at Purple Power Play. Photos by Miranda Hairgrove
Miranda Hairgrove Staff Writer Amidst loud music and muggy heat, a group of kids held perfectly still. None of them moved at all. A curious child came up to the group and dropped some money in their donations hat. In a flash, all the human statues moved into new forms. Once again, they held perfectly still and an observer would wonder whether the students had moved at all. These eccentrically dressed people were mimes from the Manhattan High Thespian Troupe. They made their
Q&A with Charlotte Benjamin, Manhattan High’s own Tracy Turnblad Q: How does it feel to be playing Tracy?
Q: What’s your favorite thing about the character of Tracy?
A: “I am so honored to have the opportunity to play Tracy. It;s been a dream of mine since I first saw the show back around fifth grade. I’m so excited to get to be in this show with a lot of my close friends.
A: I love how passionate and enthusiastic she is. She right, and sticks to what she belives in, in spite of people turning against her. She really is inspirational to me, and I’m really excited to be playing her. I love her as a character.
yearly appearance at Purple Power Play last Thursday and Friday. Every year they go to the local festival and mime as a club fundraiser. They stay true to their mime status -all of the students in costume are required to remain silent while there -- even if they’re on break. When asked what the hardest part of miming is, silent senior Lauren Fischer motioned and signaled that holding poses and being in costume in the humid heat were the most difficult things for her. Through several animated facial expressions, she communicated that
the craziest things people do is make faces and talk to the mimes. This can sometimes be a problem. To prevent the pestering and pickpocketing of performers, people are present to protect the packs of pantomimes performing at Purple Power Play in the park. The Thespians weren’t the only ones present in the park. Members of Bates and Washington dance studios performed on stage on Thursday and Friday. Both studios extensively prepare their dancers for their performances. “In the beginning of August we have a work weekend
where we work and learn all of our dances. And about two weeks before the performance, we go in and practice three hours a day every weekday,” senior Francie Knackendoffel said. Knackendoffel performed on Thursday with other Bates dancers. However, the dancing isn’t all work. The dancers love what they do. “I get to express myself through my facial expressions and movements,” junior Emily Katzemier, a Washington dancer, said. The dancers performed on stage with smaller children as
well. “It’s fun to work with smaller kids because they look up to us but it’s sometimes hard because they don’t listen very well,” Knackendoffel said.
Band, choir prepare for biannual Disney World trip Elassia Cunningham Staff Writer This year’s trip to Disney World has become one of the biggest highlights of the semester for both Band and Choir students. Band and Choir will be departing for Orlando, Fla., the week before Thanksgiving break. This will be the first time instrumental and vocal have gone to Disney together in the same year. Typically, Band will go to Disney every three years, and Choir will go every two years. However, the trip dates matched up for the 2014-2015 school year and were conveniently planned during November so that students who participate in both choir and band will only have to perform once in Florida this year. On Nov. 20, five to six
buses carrying three choirs, the marching band, dancers, teachers and chaperons will depart from Manhattan and will drive approximately 30 hours to Florida. “We’re going to be disgusting, and we’re going to smell bad . . . It’ll be fun,” Varsity Choir senior Xavier Hayden said. All together, there will be about 250 people traveling on the buses. “This is the first time Manhattan has ever taken two large groups[choir and band] like this and two parties on the road,” Marching Band teacher Joel Gittle said. “It’s a pretty big undertaking.” There are years of planning involved in the trip. The cost of the trips is about $250,000. Donations and Fund Raisers cover a large portion of the trip; however students are ex-
pected to pay a portion as well. “Donations help,” Gittle said. Financial planning isn’t the only part of the preparation for trip. Room listing and meeting with chaperons is also a large part of preparation. The students must prepare for their performances as well. Band will lead the Festival of Fantasy Parade in Disney World’s Magic Kingdom on Nov 23. They will march down Main street performing the classic “God Bless America.” Band will officially begin practicing for the parade in October. Varsity Choir, one of the three choirs performing at Disney, currently has a line up of seven songs, and more may be added as November approaches. Choir began working on songs the first week of August. Varsity will be performing popular songs such
as“The Scientist” by Coldplay and “Since You’ve Been Gone” by Kelly Clarkson. The three choirs will perform back-toback Nov 24, in the market place of downtown Disney. Choir and band will be able to see each other’s performances. “With the right motivation, we can all be ready,” band student, sophomore Brandi Medina “Our groups are very talented,” Gittle said. “They can put this stuff together very quickly.” After the performance, the groups will spend a day at Universal Studios, just enjoying the theme park. The groups will also have the opportunity to watch a Blue Man Group perform. The groups will return midnight the day before Thanksgiving day to enjoy the holiday with their families.
‘Five Nights at Freddy’s’ thrilling, brilliant Marisa Lang Graphic Designer Alone in a dark office, a security guard sits on edge, watching the security feeds for movement. Suddenly, a flash of movement on one of the screens catches his eye as something sprints down the hallway. He lunges, reaching to close the door, but he’s too late. A decaying, animatronic fox leaps through the door, shaking and screaming, and everything goes black. This scene is just one of many featured in the new indie horror game “Five Nights at Freddy’s.” Created by Scott Cawthon and released on Aug. 20, via the gaming platform Steam, “Five Nights at Freddy’s” quickly took the Internet by storm. In the game, the player has been hired as a security guard at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, a kid restaurant reminiscent of Chuck E. Cheese’s, where four animatronic characters -- Chica the Chicken, Bonnie the Bunnie, Foxy the Pirate
Fox and Freddy Fazbear -- are able to wander the restaurant at night. The player’s objective is to make sure the characters don’t get into the security office. Otherwise, they will mistake the player for a robot without its costume on and forcibly stuff them into a spare Freddy Fazbear suit, killing them in the process. Gameplay is fairly simple. The player must keep an eye on the 11 security camera feeds and watch the movements of the four animatronics; if the character gets too close to the guard room, the player must close the door in order to avoid an attack. The player is given limited power to operate the doors, lights and camera, and once the power goes out, the player is helpless. The object of the game is to survive from midnight to 6 a.m. for five nights, each night being a different level; each level only lasts about 8 or 9 minutes. However, the animatronics get more active and more aggressive as the week progresses.
While you, the player, have an extremely limited set of actions -- you can only close the doors, turn on the lights and check security cameras -- this game is far from boring. In fact, your inability to move or do much of anything has the opposite effect. It is terrifying. Homicidal children’s characters are coming to get you, and you can’t do anything about it. You can’t run away, you can’t hide and you can’t fight. The only way to defend yourself from these demented animatronics is to close a door. While other indie horror games scare the player by making them go do things they don’t want to do -- such as “Slenderman” or the SCP games -- this game is almost purely psychological. You as the player are literally just sitting there and waiting for the animatronics to come and kill you. There is no blood or gore, but this game feeds on the player’s growing paranoia, as well as an onslaught of terrifying images and jump-scares. What makes the game all
the more horrifying is the final scene. Once the player has lost, the final image of a Freddy Fazbear suit with the eyes missing comes on the screen with the words “Game Over” written on the bottom, implying that the player has been murdered by the animatronics and stuffed into the suit. I would give “Five Nights at Freddy’s” 4/5 stars. The characters movements do become a bit predictable after a while, and those brave few will probably get bored with the game once they’ve mastered closing the doors and coping with limited power. However, for most players the feelings of paranoia and dread never truly go away, no matter how comfortable they get with the game. It preys on the age-old fear of knowing something is coming to get you, but being unable to do anything about it. Overall, “Five Nights at Freddy’s” is a fantastic example of a well-executed horror game, with the perfect atmosphere of suspense and terror. Play it -- if you dare.
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The Mentor • Sept. 9, 2014
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TE E N S
& MONEY
To many Manhattan High students, a job is a great way to earn some cash and learn new things.
Story by Tracy Le
---------------------------------------“Jobs teach you a lot,” senior Nechelle Williams said. “I’ve read a lot of statistics that say that those people know how to manage their money a lot better and they know how to save and stuff like that. So there are pros and cons to it, but the pros are really great.” Williams has been working at the Dillions in West Loop for almost a year. “I really like it. It was hard at first because I thought I could do school and work. Now I’m more experienced and I’m more comfortable, so I’ve switched to just weekends, so it’s a lot easier,” Williams said. “When you first start out, I recommend just doing weekends because if you try to work after school it’s going to be hard. When you get home all you’re
going to want to do is sleep. That’s it. You’re going to want to sleep. You’re going to say ‘oh, when I get home I’m going to work on my homework’. No. When you get home you’re going to eat, say hi to your parents, and then go to sleep.” Although time management is especially tough for students with jobs, Williams believes it’s all worth it. “At first it’s hectic, but you learn how to really manage your time. You get more mature as you get a job,” Williams said. Working at Ray’s Apple Market every week for 20 to 22 hours, senior Allyssa Pariona agrees. “It is sort of hard when it comes to homework because you have to go from school to work, for me at least. So you get
home pretty late and sometimes you have so much homework, but I think it’s worth it,” Pariona said. “I think it’s pretty important for high schoolers to get a job, considering it gives us experience for the future.” Sierra Flowers, junior, also agrees. “Time management is really hard. It was really hard to get homework done at first,” Flowers said. Flowers works three times a week; eight to 12 hours on Sundays, Saturday afternoons and from 4 or 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. on a weekday. Like Williams, Flowers reduced the load to three days a week and has worked at Taco Casa since January. Like Williams, Flowers also enjoys the pros of having a job. “It teaches you a lot about responsibility and time
Graphic by Marisa Lang
management,” Flowers said. Junior Claire Kringen has only working since the end of July but she already sees the benefits and hardships of having a job. “I was working one night a week after school from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. but I couldn’t get my homework done so I switched to weekends on day shifts. So it still gives me plenty of time
for homework and other things,” Kringen said. Kringen now works at Meadowlark Nursing Home as a nursing aid every other weekend from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday. ”I decided to get a job to get more practice for nursing school,” Kringen said. ”I filled out an application and then I had an interview and then another interview and then another interview. It was long… Some
days I enjoy it. Some days it’s harder.” Kringen plans on working at Meadowlark until she finishes high school and then plans to look for another nursing home to work at when she goes to college. Though there are rough days, Kringen appreciates the extra cash, the knowledge and the experience.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
$2.13
per hour is the minimum wage Kansas requires employers to pay their workers.
40
is the maximuum hours per week someone under 16 years old can work.
23.4
-----------------------------------------------------------
million 16 to 24 year olds were working or looking for work during the July of 2014.
The above information was taken from YouthRules!
APPEARANCE IN THE WORKPLACE Darian Foga-Frehn, Staff Writer
In today’s society, piercings, tattoos and brightly colored hair are becoming more common in schools and in the workplace. There are quite a few students at Manhattan High School who have chosen to adorn themselves with these items. Senior Katie Mack has a tattoo of a heart with a trail of music notes on her right shoulder. “I got it [the tattoo] on July 15 at Looking Glass Tattoo in Topeka,” Mack said. “I like music, and I like Etta James. My tattoo is of her notes for her song ‘At Last’.” Senior Carol Wynn has quite a few piercings. “I have 11 piercings. I have a double eyebrow, helix, rook, three lobe piercings on each ear, and I have my belly button pierced,” Wynn said. “I got them all done at Stray Cat in Manhattan over a one and a half year period. I got them because most of them are fairly uncommon piercings, and they give me character.”
It can be difficult for teens with body art to find a job because many employers look for employees with a “cleaner” appearance. However, as times change and more people get piercings, employers’ dress codes change, too. “I had a job at iHop. They allowed visible tattoos, as long as they weren’t offensive,” Mack said. “Our uniform was a white button-up shirt, slacks and black no-slip shoes. Yoga pants and visible undergarments were not allowed.” “I think that they [piercings, tattoos,etc.] should be more accepted in the workplace,” Wynn said. “I don’t have a job, but I believe that if businesses don’t allow piercings or tattoos, they’re not really allowing workers to be themselves and express their personalities. They shouldn’t be allowed to tell people who they need to be according to company standards. It’s not right.”